Griffin Tale
by DragonessTiger
Summary: Domino City is constantly attacked by mythical creatures. Yugi is a little teenager with big dreams who finds himself in hot water when everyone thinks he's a hero by telling a lie about slaying a griffin. Ch10 now up!
1. The Lives of a Boy & Griffin

Griffin Tale

Chapter 1

The lives of a boy and a griffin 

Somewhere out in Domino City, a gull was struggling to get free of a wire cage setting on the top of a building. He was turning blue and trying not to panic. If he didn't get free soon a hawk could easily come along and eat him. _"Hey, it's fine. Lots of gulls who find themselves in this position don't get eaten by hawks,"_ the gull was thinking. _"Plenty of times, there aren't any hawks. No hawks. Not one. Then you're able to wriggle free and fly away. Yup! Nobody's gonna eat me up. No reason to panic…"_

The gull heard a distant flap of wings in the air. He turned his head slowly to see what it was. There, not two inches from him was a bird. A very large bird. As it got closer the gull noticed that it had just the head and wings of a eagle, but the rest of its body was like a lion's. It was in fact, a Griffin!

This particular griffin was a medium golden colour with a light golden colour around its underbelly, ears and paws. It had a huge, hairy golden mane and its wings were a medium brown. It had blue, green and yellow feathers on its head, sharp golden-yellow eyes, a razor sharp beak and four razor sharp black claws on all four of its paws.

"_Time to panic!"_ the gull thought.

"Hi! I'm Harry." The griffin said.

The gull's eyes rolled up into the back of his head and he fainted.

"Oh, little buddy. Did I scare ya?" Harry asked as he gently took the small bird into his rather large paws.

Harry shook the little gull lightly, "Wake up! Wake up, little birdie!"

The gull awoke and looked up at Harry. Looking into the griffin's eyes, the gull could see that they didn't seem frightening at all! They were actually quite…friendly.

"You stuck in that net?" Harry asked. "Don't worry about it. I'm gonna get you out in a jiffy. You just hang in there, little birdie. Okay, here we go…and…gotcha!"

The gull found himself out of the net, sitting in the griffin's paws.

"Okay, buddy, you're free." Harry added. "Now escape. Go. Just go. Cry freedom!"

The gull shook his head in disbelief. Who was this guy? Then he spread his wings and flew away as fast as he could.

Harry watched as the gull flew away. _"Cute little thing."_ He thought as he turned back towards the building. A large brown head rose up beneath him.

"AHHHHHH!" Harry shrieked. It was his brother Bruce.

The older griffin didn't look the least bit like his younger brother. No one would ever be able to tell that they were related. Bruce was slightly bigger than Harry and he was stronger as his great strength showed on his well-muscled body. Bruce a medium brown colour with a bright tango colour around his underbelly, legs and paws. He had a huge, hairy orange mane and his wings were a dark brown. The feathers on his head were red, purple and green. Bruce had ruby-red eyes and his expression was harsher than Harry's.

"You almost gave me a heart attack!" Harry jabbed his brother in the beak.

Bruce just shook his head in disgust. "Harry," he said. "What are you doing?"

"I was just, um, picking you some flowers." Harry said, quickly scooping some up out of a balcony garden.

Bruce gave him a hard swat.

"Hey!" Harry cried. "Mom said it's not okay to hit."

Bruce responded by swatting him again. "Mom's not here!" He said and flew away. Sometimes Bruce was sure Harry had been adopted. He couldn't be a pure Headfeathered Griffin. There was definitely guppy blood in his veins.

Griffins didn't behave like Harry. Griffins behaved like…like…Pop did. Pop was the most ruthless, dangerous, Headfeathered Griffin in the whole city.

Bruce puffed out his chest proudly and snapped up a small canary that had wandered into his path. Now, _there_ was a true griffin. His father. Lino. Godfather of the entire city.

As Bruce's and Harry's shadows flitted across the city and finally disappeared, the huge Jumbotron in the centre of Times Square switched back on and the beaming face of Katie Current, resident sweetheart news anchor, appeared on the screen.

"Good morning, Domino City. I'm Katie Current, keeping it current! We've just received news that the threat level is back down to green. The griffins are gone. I repeat THE GRIFFINS ARE GONE!" she said.

Almost as soon as the words had left her mouth, the city came alive. Blinds in windows flew up, the streets began to fill up with taxis and buses, and the trains began to run as thousands of people began to emerge from hiding.

Back on the Jumbotron, Katie was finishing her report, "Tonight at eleven – an in-depth report. With the increasing griffin activity, are your kids safe? You know they're not. Is there no hero among us? Who can stop the griffin menace?"

* * *

In another part of the city, a small teenage boy with wild blonde and black hair trimmed in red and big child-like black and violet eyes appeared to be enjoying the luxury of a high-rise penthouse. It had everything: a sixty-inch high definition flat screen TV with six speaker surround , CD, DVD, PlayStation hook-up, and even an 8-track player. 

"Welcome to Yugi's crib." The boy boasted.

"Hey, Yugi!" shouted a little kid who was even smaller than him, "Don't forget your floor to ceiling lava lamp!"

Three little kids ran up in front of a large billboard advertising penthouse properties and shattered Yugi's daydream. They giggled at the billboard's headline, _If you're rich, you could be here._

"Hey!" Yugi shouted. "Come on, Shorties. Why are you always messing my fantasy?"

"Because you're so broke you're baloney had no first name." One of the Shorties giggled.

"Ha ha ha! That's very funny." Yugi laughed sarcastically.

"Hey, Yugi!" an enthusiastic, but somewhat silly voice called.

Yugi looked into a nearby alley way across the street. It was Crazy Joe. He was a homeless old man who lived in an old dumpster inside the alley. His real name was Joe Riggery, but everyone called him Crazy Joe because that's what he was…crazy! But Yugi didn't think he was crazy. He just wasn't very bright.

"Yugi, over here!" Crazy Joe called. "I gotta talk to ya!"

"I'll be right there!" Yugi said. "Here! Hang onto these for me!" He gave the Shorties his sunglasses, baseball cap and his medallion.

"Yugi, you the best!" One Shorty said as Yugi gave his sunglasses to him.

"Yo, dude!" another said as Yugi put his cap on his head.

Yugi placed his medallion around the girl Shorties neck. But the heavy necklace was a little too big for her and she fell onto her rear end. The other Shorties laughed.

Yugi ran up to Crazy Joe, "Hey, Crazy Joe!"

"Now that you live in that great penthouse can be you're financial advisor?" The old man asked rather sweetly.

"Uh, that's a billboard Crazy Joe." Yugi told him

"You live in a billboard?" Crazy Joe asked, looking at the young boy questionably.

"No. I-

"And they call me crazy!" Crazy Joe laughed and disappeared back into his dumpster.

Yugi chuckled. Crazy Joe wasn't very bright, but he was always good for a laugh.

"Hey, Yugi look who came to visit." The Shorty with the cap said as he and the others spray painted the billboard.

Yugi gasped. There was graffiti all over the billboard. There was a picture of a great Headfeathered Griffin busting through the board opened mouthed with Yugi trapped in its jaws. Yugi frowned. The Shorties were always teasing him, they were always spray-painting things and they were always in trouble.

"No!" Yugi said, wiping some of the paint off the board. "Don't do that! Shouldn't you kids be in school?"

"Shouldn't you be at work?" one of the Shorties shot back.

"Ooh, right back at me, huh. Little smart-mouth. Look, I'm on my way. You kids stay out of trouble, all right. And clean up that stuff!" And with a wave of his hand, Yugi walked away.

"See ya!" the Shorties called as they began to clean up the billboard.

Yugi worked at Sykes' Draco Wash, a state-of-the-art dragon cleaning assembly line. It wasn't much of a job when he really thought about it. All he did was scrub away the grime and slime off the dragons tongues with his friends Joey and Tristan.

He walked down the assembly line of dragons. The great beasts smiled warmly at him and waved. Yugi smiled. He was pretty popular with everyone in the Draco Wash.

He walked past the bungee jumpers that jumped down on their bungee cords and scrapped the rotten scales on the dragons' backs. Yugi saw his friends Mokuba and Emily as they jumped onto the dragon's back, "Hey, Mokuba, Emily!"

"Hey, Yugi!" Mokuba waved.

"Hi, Yugi!" Emily said.

Yugi exchanged high fives with the youngsters. He then past the unicorns. The Unicorns looked like pure white creatures with the body of a horse, the tail of a lion, the legs of an antelope and a single horn on their heads. Yugi thought that they were the most beautiful of all magical creatures.

They zapped the gems that were stuck on the dragon's underbelly with they're horns. Gems usually got stuck on the dragons' stomachs when they lay on their treasure nets. Yugi smiled as he saw his friends Georgie and Jenny. "Hey, Georgie, Jenny!"

"Hey, Yugi! What's 'zappining'?" Georgie giggled.

"Hi, Yugi! What's the latest wave of news?" Jenny chimed in.

Yugi laughed along with his friends. He past the control tower that controlled all the machinery in the wash. He looked up and smiled as he saw his friends Seto Kaiba and Kisara Hikari working at the controls. "Hey, Seto is it lunch yet?" Yugi asked.

"You just got here!" Seto smiled.

"That's the point!" Yugi said, chuckling.

"Yugi, you're hopeless!" Kisara said with a smile.

Yugi just laughed. He then past the brushers, among the humans were the Centaurs. The centaurs looked like creatures that were half man and half horse. They had the upper body of a man, but the legs and body of a horse. Thou they looked a little strange, Yugi knew that with they're horse speed and human intelligence, they were very powerful. They scrubbed the dirt and grime off the dragons' skins. Yugi smiled as he saw his friends David and Mimi, and his older brother Yami. "Hey, guys!" Yugi waved.

"Hey, Yug! What's new?" David said.

"Hey there, Yugi!" Mimi waved.

"So you finally decided to show up little brother!" Yami said with a smile.

Yugi just smiled. Next to the brushers were the waxers. Among the human waxers were the Phoenixes. The phoenixes looked like enormous magical birds with fire-red feathers. Some had rainbow coloured wings. Yugi thought that these birds' feathers were beautiful, but he knew that they weren't just respected creatures because they were birds of fire. They were also respected because they had the power to heal any wound or injury with they're magical tears. They rubbed hot wax onto the dragons' skins with either sponges or their backs.

Yugi looked up as he saw his friends Tea and Kenai, and his older sister Mai. "Hey, sis, guys!"

"Hey, Yugi!" Tea waved.

"Hi, Yugster!" Kenai said.

"Hey, there little bro!" Mai smiled.

Yugi waved at them and finally walked up to the time clock on the back wall. He grabbed his time card to punch in, but then realized that someone had already done it for him.

"Huh? I'm already punched in?" He stared at the card and smiled: "Mhairi."

* * *

"Good morning, how can I help you?" Mhairi asked the dragon that was hovering just outside the tower, just opposite her reception desk. 

"One wash and lube, please." The dragon said in a gruff, but somewhat warm voice.

"Hot wax?" Mhairi asked.

"Please." The dragon replied.

"Scale scrape?" Mhairi smiled at him. "We're having a special. Whaddaya say?"

"Why not? Its mating season and I'm feeling lucky." Said the dragon, wriggling his eyebrows. Besides, it was hard to say no to Mhairi.

The phone rang and Mhairi answered it as the dragon flew into the wash. "Sykes' Draco Wash. You get a flare of a wash, and the price…oh my gosh."

Mhairi yawned slightly as she listened to the dragon on the other end. Working at the Draco Wash with her older sister Mimi and her older brother Kenai wasn't the most exciting job in the world, but it was a living. As the dragon continued to talk, Mhairi doodled little hearts on the pad in front of her, filling each one with the word 'Yugi'. "Oh. May I suggest a scale peel? It removes lines and rain damage. Good."

Just then, Yugi walked into the office, "Hey, Mhairi!"

"Oh, my gosh!" Mhairi cried. She quickly covered the pad with some papers before Yugi could see it. "Hi, Yugi!" she giggled.

"Thanks for covering for me." He said. He grabbed the phone from Mhairi as it started to ring again, "Hi, I'm sorry buddy, but Mhairi's a little busy right now, would you hold for one moment please? Thanks bud."

"Yugi!" Mhairi said, annoyingly.

Yugi punched the hold button then grabbed Mhairi whirled her around. "Come on, Mhairi. Dance with me! Tomorrow I will be rich! Come on, Mhairi!"

Mhairi smiled as she sat down again, "Yugi! You're gonna get me fired!"

Yugi looked at Mhairi in mock horror. "Please, you fired? Nah, that can't happen. 'Cuz then I'd have absolutely no reason to come to work."

"Oh, you don't mean that." Mhairi said, blushing.

"Of course I do." Yugi went on, getting his safety goggles on. "You're my best friend."

"Yup, best friend." Mhairi said in a small voice.

Suddenly Yugi turned to her and began to speak in an excited voice. "Listen, tell me what you think about this. This is like the best idea ever! It's a sure-thing-guarantee-cash-extravaganza!" He paused for a moment, and then announced, "Duel Monster cards!"

"Oh no." Mhairi said, rolling her eyes.

"I know, I know, I know." Yugi said. "Now all I need is another advance on my pay check from the boss and Mhairi I am outta this place!"

"Yugi! Instead of getting in Mr Sykes' face with another one of your get-rich-quick-schemes, go and do something you're actually good at – your job – which, with some miracle, you still have." She put his belt on him, "There, handsome."

Yugi turned to leave. "Oh, I almost forgot." He said. "I brought you some breakfast." He held out a paper bag.

"You didn't! Tuna mayo?" Mhairi couldn't help smiling.

Yugi nodded. "Your favourite. Oh, by the way? You're still on hold!"

"Oh, my gosh!" Mhairi made a dive for the phone. "Thank you for holding! Sorry we're busy, busy, busy!" She gestured at Yugi. _Go!_ She mouthed. Then she turned back to the phone. "How can I help you?"

As she listened to the dragon on the other end, Mhairi watched as Yugi walked out of her office. Yugi was always flirting with her…but he flirted with everyone. He didn't have a clue about how she really felt.

She shook her head and sighed. It was probably just as well. If he knew she was stuck on him, he'd probably never talk to her again.

"No, I'm sorry." She said into the phone. "Mr Sykes is at a meeting right now. Won't be back until later."

* * *

"How are my little babies this morning? You miss me? You doin' good, huh? Huh?" Lino peered into the fish tank in his office, tapping on the glass with his paw. 

"You see, Sykes?" Lino gestured towards the tank approvingly. "It's a dog-eat-dog world. You either take or you get taken."

He dropped a little chop of meat into the tank. As he watched, the cute little fishes opened they're mouths and surrounded the meat. Snapping at the meat with they're huge razor-sharp teeth. They were piranhas.

Sykes – a part bird and part human creature, and one of Lino's most trusted employees – nodded, while trying not to puff up with fright, looking at the fish tank. "Truer words have never been spoken. So. Is that it? That all? We done?"

Sykes looked like a man with the head of a bird, the legs of a bird, the wings of a bird and his whole body was covered in the feathers of a bird. He was a blue colour with a white underbelly and the tips of his wings were navy blue. He was a fat, bad tempered, but cowardly little creature.

Lino, on the other hand, was a well-muscled, ferocious, but equally bad tempered Headfeathered Griffin. Lino a rich black colour with a light grey colour around his underbelly, back and paws. He had a huge, hairy black mane and his wings were a raven black. The feathers on his head were grey, red and yellow, and Lino's expression had no soft look to it.

Lino stared at Sykes. A long moment went by.

Sykes looked down, his shaggy eyebrows hiding the sudden fear in his eyes.

"Now you and me, Sykes," Lino said smoothly, "we've worked together a long, long time."

"Please, Lino!" said Sykes, grinning weakly. "It's hardly been like work."

"Let me finish," Lino said, waving his paw. "As you know, I've lived my life for my sons. Raising them and protecting them. It's all been for to prepare them for the day they run the city. Well today is that day."

"Long story short," he went on. "From now on you's work for Bruce and Harry. _Capisce_?"

Sykes laughed a little. "Harry? Bruce I understand. But Harry? You can't be serious!"

"I'm dead serious." said Lino. "It takes more than muscle to run things. Harry now – he's got the brains. That's somethin' special."

Sykes nodded. "Oh, yeah. He's 'special' all right."

Lino's eyes narrowed a little. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Nothin', nothin'!" Sykes said quickly. "I'm just sayin'-"

"Hey, Sykes." Lino barred his teeth. "I bring you in here. Look you in the eye, tell you what's what and WHAT?"

"What?" Sykes asked.

"What?" Lino said. "What!"

"What nothin'!" Sykes said, completely confused. "You said 'what' first."

"I didn't say 'what' first." Lino said. "I asked you what."

"No. You said what, and then what, and then I asked you 'what'." Sykes' head was swimming.

"No. I said what, what!" Lino said, equally confused. "Like what 'what'."

Sykes paused for a moment, and then said, "You said 'what' first."

"Now your makin' fun of me." Lino moved closer to Sykes.

Sykes could smell his breath. He had been eating…chicken. "No, no, no!" Sykes said quickly. "You misunderstood! You misunderstood-"

Just then, Bruce and Harry walked into the room. "Sorry we're late, Pop." Bruce said, walking up behind the office bar. "Harry had an accident. He was born."

"Heh! Heh! Heh!" Harry laughed sarcastically as he sat on a stool beside the bar. "You're a comic genius."

"Look," Sykes said, quietly. "All I'm sayin' is, the kid ain't exactly no killer."

"My Harry _IS_ a killer! Ya hear me!" Lino said angrily. "A cold blooded killer! Look at him!"

Sykes and Lino looked at Harry. The young griffin took no notice and spun around on his chair. He looked more like an innocent kitten than a ferocious Headfeathered Griffin.

Sykes gestured towards Harry approvingly.

Lino looked from Harry to Sykes. He muscles bulged under his fur. "That it! THAT'S IT! You are OUT!" he shouted. Lino gave Sykes one of his famous _I'm-a-griffin-and-I'm-going-to-devour-you-whole_ looks.

Sykes panicked, blowing up like a balloon. Some of his feathers fell out all over his body. He hated it when he panicked and puffed up like this. It was embarrassing. Besides, it made him itch.

"What!" Sykes gasped, hovering in the air like a balloon. "Whaddaya mean, I'm out?"

"You're fired!" Lino swatted Sykes hard, sending him flying over to the other side of the room and making him crash through the wall. "And on top of that, you're gonna have to start payin' me."

"For what?" Sykes asked.

"So that nothin' happens to that little Draco Wash of yours." Lino sneered.

Sykes wriggled out of the wall and darted out of the room as fast as his wings could carry him. If Lino thought his sweet, good-natured son Harry was going to be able to take over the city, the old man was nuts. Sykes wondered how long it would take him to find that out.


	2. Yugi's Problem

Griffin Tale

Chapter 2

Yugi's problem 

Back at the Draco Wash, Yugi was scrubbing green slime off a dragon's gigantic tongue. It was disgusting.

"Welcome to Yugi's crib," Yugi said sarcastically, "a sixty-foot slime-covered tongue with plankton encrusted teeth."

"Oh, stop yer moaning, Yugi!" said Joey Wheeler, another tongue scrubber and Yugi's best friend. "It could be a lot worse you know!"

"Yeah, that's true." Yugi said with a sly smile. "I could have this job and look like you!"

All the other tongue scrubbers bust out laughing, even Joey laughed, knowing that Yugi was just playing around.

Suddenly things did get worse – a lot worse. The dragon started to heave and choke. Yugi looked down into his bucket of slime as the watery surface rippled and trembled. His eyes grew wide with fear. _Indigestion!_ "SHE'S GONNA BLOW!" Yugi screamed.

All the scrubbers raced out of the dragon's mouth. They all knew that if a dragon had indigestion it would mean only one thing: a very large burp with flames!

Everyone managed to get out safely, except one little kid who slip on the slime and fell into it face first.

"Wait!" Tristan said, looking back. "That little kid's stuck in there!"

Yugi looked back. The little kid was just starting to pick himself up. Yugi looked down the dragon's throat. He could see the glow of the dragon's fire coming. The kid wouldn't have enough time to run out! He'd be burnt to a crisp!

"Hang on kid!" Yugi doubled back, grabbed the even smaller boy, jumped up and braced against the dragon's uvula. A huge burp erupted from the dragon's mouth and flames blew out, consuming Yugi and the kid in it!

"YUGI!" Joey and Tristan cried.

Yami, Mai and the others rushed up at seeing their friend's daring rescue to save the little kid. The flames soon died down and the dragon began to heave and choke then he spat out Yugi and the young boy. Yugi landed on the ground with a thud. Yami, Mai and the others surround Yugi while the other workers checked on the boy. Yugi's friends were glad to see that he was safe.

Yami and Mai hugged their younger brother, over joyed that he was safe. After losing their parents, Yami and Mai wouldn't be able to live with themselves if they lost Yugi.

"Yugi, are you alright?" Yami asked, checking his brother all over.

"I'm okay." Yugi replied.

"Thank goodness you're safe." Mai said, hugging him tightly.

"Yami, Mai, honestly, I'm fine." Yugi said again, pulling out of they're arms.

Another burp erupted from the dragon's mouth and mucus flew everywhere, hitting Yugi in the face.

"Bleeh, still think it could be worse?" Yugi asked Joey, wiping the slimy stuff off his face.

"Yeah," Joey said. "I could look like you."

All the other scrubbers began to crack up. Even Yugi laughed as he bent down and picked up a handful of slime, "Very funny. Well, see if you laugh at this!" he threw the slime at Joey.

But Joey ducked and the slime hit a button up in the booth. Suddenly a blast of soap caught the dragon right in the eye.

"AHHHHH! That HURTS!" The dragon started to thrash.

"Soap in the eye! Soap in the eye!" Tristan warned as the dragon nearly hit him with its tail.

Yugi thought fast. He darted over to the emergency lever and pulled it. Alarm bells went off as a huge harness clamped down over the dragon. Then he grabbed a bucket and squeegee, ran over to the dragon, and quickly cleaned the soap out of his eye.

"It's all right, it's all right." He said soothingly to the dragon. "Look, I'm gonna get you some coupons, we're gonna get you a free hot wax and all that. You like that?"

The dragon nodded, "Thanks, Yugi."

_Phew!_ Yugi put down the squeegee. He was about to dive back to his station when a stinger zapped him on the shoulder. "Ahh!" he yelped.

He turned to see Ernie and Bernie, Sykes' Marsupial dragon assistants. They looked like a cross between dragons and kangaroos. They had bright green scaly skin with blue feet, hands and a blue stripe from their head to their tails, and yellow underbellies. They had small horns on their heads, small spikes on their back, longs sharp claws and small sharp fangs. They had large kangaroo-like legs, small wings that were completely useless for flying and pouches on their stomachs. Their zaps packed a powerful punch. Their brains, however, were a lot less powerful. Yugi sometimes wondered if they had any brains at all.

"Well, look who it is, Bernie." Ernie sneered.

"Just the boy we're lookin' for." Bernie replied. "The boss be needin' to see you-right now!"

"Ernie! Bernie! Nice to see ya guys! What's up?" Yugi said nervously.

"You are!" Said Ernie. "Up in Mr Sykes office. Now, mon."

Ernie and Bernie grabbed Yugi and hauled him up to Sykes' office. They tossed him inside. Yugi hit the desk with a crash. He stood up and rubbed his sore head, "Hey, Sykes you wanted to see me?"

"Yugi," Sykes gestured to a chair. "Would you please sit down?"

"Sure." Yugi sat down.

"I've been going over my markers," Sykes began. "You're into me for five grand. That's five G's-"

Yugi shook his head, "Five G's? No way it's five G's…"

Sykes picked up a stack of papers and threw them at Yugi's head, "See if this refreshes your memory."

Yugi quickly glanced at all the IOUs. He gulped, "Look at that. I never knew that you wrote down everything that I owe you so you wouldn't forget." He nodded seriously, "This is a perfect example of why you're in management and I'm not."

"Yugi…"Sykes growled, starting to puff up, "I have to start paying Don Lino protection, so everything you owe me – you owe him."

"How do you figure that?" Yugi asked.

"Simple, the food chain." Sykes said simply. Sykes pulled down a diagram of the food chain that was hanging behind his desk. "You see? On top, there's Don Lino. Then there's me, and then there's regular humans."

"That's me." Yugi said helpfully.

"No." Sykes said, rolling the end of the diagram over his desk. "There's dragons, then there's unicorns, then there's phoenixes and centaurs-"

"Then there's me?" Yugi chimed in, pointing to the diagram.

"I'm getin' there." Sykes said, swatting Yugi's hand away. "There's kimeras, there's krakens, there's cerberus', there's hydras, there's werewolf drool, there's bunyip slime…and then there's you." Sykes pointed to the bottom of the chart and sure enough Yugi's picture was there.

Yugi reached over and pulled the chart towards him. He stared at it for a second. He frowned, "That's messed up!"

"So if Don Lino's squeezing me…" Sykes continued, ignoring Yugi's last comment. "…He's squeezing YOU!" Sykes poked Yugi in the chest with his stick.

"What!" Yugi cried, letting go of the chart. The chart whirled up like a window blind, hitting Sykes in the face. "Sykes, I'm sorry!" Yugi apologized quickly.

"YUGI!" Sykes shrieked, starting to blow up.

"Easy boss." Bernie said, moving closer. "Find your happy place."

"Happy place!" Ernie chimed in cheerily.

Sykes rubbed his beck, "There IS no happy place with him around."

"Sykes-" Yugi began.

"I'm serious!" Sykes blew up completely, knocking Yugi to the ground.

"Okay, okay!" Yugi cried, scrambling to get out of Sykes' way. "Please, just gimme some time. That's all I'm asking! I'm begging you, Sykes. Please."

Sykes stared at Yugi. His eyes softened…slightly. "Alright." He said, un-puffing himself. "Cause I 'like' you, I'm gonna give you twenty-four hours to pay up."

"All of it?" Yugi gulped, standing up. Yugi knew that he was in serious trouble now. He, his brother and sister were already in enough dept, there was just no way that he could pay Sykes back by tomorrow! "How am I supposed to do that?"

"That's you're problem." Sykes told him, leaving the office as Ernie and Bernie opened the door for him. "Bring my five thousand dollars to the race track tomorrow…or else."

"Or else what?" Yugi asked.

"The boys'll explain." Sykes said and he closed the door.

Yugi watched as Ernie and Bernie closed in. Five thousand dollars? How was he going to get five thousand dollars by tomorrow? _"Somehow, I'll figure something out."_ Yugi thought. _"I just gotta."_

But he had to admit, as Bernie (or was it Ernie?) reached out a stinger to zap him, that his dream penthouse was looking a lot further away than it had that morning.


	3. A Dream & a Disaster

Griffin Tale

Chapter 3

A Dream and a Disaster

Yugi sat out on a bench on Mhairi's balcony – supporting a big black eye. Ernie and Bernie had zapped him right in the eye and it was now swollen quite badly. After his meeting with Sykes Yugi had told Yami and Mai about the money, and they weren't very happy. Yugi had decided to go to Mhairi's place since his older siblings were angry with him.

Five minutes later, Mhairi came out holding a large chop of beef. Thou Mhairi was Yugi's most loyal friend, she was angry with him. "Five thousand dollars!" she fumed as she slapped the chop onto his eye. "You borrowed five thousand dollars from Mr Sykes! Oh, Yugi why do you get yourself into these situations?"

"I don't know, Mhairi." Yugi sighed, placing the meat on the bench. "It's – It's just hard you know? I'm a little kid in a really big town. The city!" He walked past her with a sad expression on his usually cheerful face, "And I'm a…a…a nobody."

Yugi pointed upwards, "I want some of _that_."

Mhairi turned to look. She arched an eyebrow, "Mrs Sanchez?"

Yugi followed her glance. Sure enough, there was Mrs Sanchez, brushing her teeth, wearing curlers and a ratty old rope.

Yugi was grossed out, "Ewwww! No." He pointed higher, at a little sliver of open space between two nearby buildings to the shimmering lights beyond. "_That_. The top of the city. Where the somebodies live. I wanna be rich and famous like them, but I'm…stuck down here."

"Well, what's wrong with down here? Everyone loves you here and at the Draco Wash." Mhairi asked. Why would Yugi wish to be anywhere else, but here? This was his home. This is where she, Yugi and all their friends had grown up together.

Yugi stared at her, "I'll tell you why. Remember my dad?"

Mhairi nodded.

"He had lived here all his life." Yugi gazed off into space, remembering. "He had grown up here, he had met my mom here and he had brought up me, Yami and Mai here. He used to own the Draco Wash, but in those days it was the most popular disco in the city!"

"To me, working at there was the coolest job in the city and I wanted to be just like my dad. But then there came that day that will never forget…" Yugi remembered the day of the crash. A truck had crashed right into his parents car. Yugi, Yami and Mai had survived the impacted, but his parents had been killed. Since they only had their grandfather, Solomon Motou, they went to live with him.

But then when their grandfather became too old to look after them, they moved out and Mai gave up collage to work at their father's old place which was now the Draco Wash since their father had left no will and Sykes had been his old business partner so he changed it. When Yami became old enough he left high school to help his sister. Yugi gave up school early to help his older siblings even thou they wanted him to stay at school and have a good education. But Yugi didn't want to go back because he didn't fit in. His schoolmates teased him because of his size and he had gotten into quite a few fights because of it.

Yugi looked bitterly at Mhairi, "My dad was the greatest. But nobody loves a nobody. I want to be a somebody."

"Yugi, you don't have to live at the top of the city to be a somebody." Mhairi told him softly, placing a hand on his shoulder.

Yugi sighed. "Aw, what's the difference, anyway?" he sighed, sitting on the bench. "If I don't pay Mr Sykes back by tomorrow, I'm dead anyway."

Mhairi looked at Yugi. Her heart melted. He was just so adorable! She made a decision. "Wait here." She told him as she went back inside the house.

Yugi looked back up at the lights. He sighed. It would take a miracle to make his dream come true. He wanted to be up there, he wanted to be like his father, and he wanted his brother and sister to be proud of him.

Mhairi came back, she was holding an oyster shell.

"What's this?" Yugi asked. Mhairi flipped it open. Inside was the most beautiful pink pearl that Yugi had ever seen. "A pink pearl?" he gasped. "Where'd you get that?"

"My mom gave it to me before she died." Mhairi explained. Like Yugi, Mhairi's parents had passed away when she was young. "She said it started from a tiny grain of sand…but after a while, it grew into something beautiful. Dreams can begin small too…" Mhairi handed the pearl to Yugi.

"Oh, no," Yugi began. "I couldn't. I mean-"

"Take it." Mhairi said. "It'll get you the money you need for Mr Sykes." She smiled.

Yugi returned her smile. For the first time in a long while, Yugi couldn't think of anything to say. He took the pearl.

* * *

Somewhere on the other side of the city, in the big glamorous restaurant on Lino's old abandoned ocean liner, Lino sat at a table with his two sons, Bruce and Harry. It was feeding time, and the whole restaurant was crowed with griffins and other dangerous magical creatures. 

Some were Western Dragons. They looked like gigantic, fire-breathing beats with scaly bodies and huge wings. They lived alone in they're treasure lairs and they were very greedy, and unlike the Eastern Dragons that came to the Draco Wash, they were evil and they also attacked and ate people.

Some of the other creatures were Chimeras. They were beats with the body and head of a lion, the head of a goat and a poisonous snake for a tail. These creatures belched out flames in all directions from they're hideous mouths and they also ate humans.

The other creatures were Cerberus'. These beasts were as frightening as anyone could ever imagine. They were huge furious dogs with three heads and three sets of teeth. In ancient times they're jobs were to guard the gates to the underworld, but now they just did what they pleased and they ate humans.

Another type of creature with two or more heads was the Hydras. They were huge snakes with nine heads who lived in swamps, but that didn't stop them from coming into the city to eat humans.

The other creatures were the Werewolves. They looked like a man or woman with the head of a wolf, a tail of a wolf and they're bodies were covered in thick fur. They only came out at night when the moon was full, but like the other carnivore magical beasts they were bloodthirsty creatures – they came out at night to search for and eat any human flesh that they could find.

The last evil magical creatures were the Bunyips. They were the ugliest of all creatures. They had the legs and tail of a reptile, they're bodies were covered in thick fur, they had huge paws and the face of a hideous turtle. They lived in rivers, creeks and swamps and they only came out at night to attack and eat any animal or person they could find.

"You know, you're really giving me agita." he was saying to Harry. "I don't know how else to say this to you, Harry. You see something, you kill it, you eat. Period. That's what griffins do. That's a fine tradition. What's the matter with you?"

Lino waved a paw at Bruce who was sitting beside him greedily eating and getting the food all over his face, "You're brother Bruce here, now, he's a killer."

"Thanks Pop." Bruce said, still eating.

Lino patted Bruce on the peak, "He's beautiful. He does what he's supposed to do. Wipe yer face."

Bruce wiped his face with his paw.

"But you." Lino went on. "I'm hearin' things. You gotta understand. When you look weak, it makes me look weak. I can't have that."

"I know, pop." Harry hung his head. "I'm sorry."

"Harry, Harry." Lino went on. "Look at me. This handin' over the business, it's for you. It's for both of ya. And you're acting like ya don't even want it. I need to know that you can handle it. So…"

Lino pulled out a canary from his cocktail. The canary sneezed, spraying cocktail sauce over the table. "All right. Right here. In front of me. Now. Eat this."

Harry looked at the wriggling canary. He cringed. There was no way he was going to be able to eat it. "Ooooh, yeah, awwww, gee, thanks pop." He stalled. "But ya see. Here's the thing. I'm on a diet, and I read an article about these canaries…they're not good for you. You know how many calories are in one of those things?" he asked, quickly scanning the menu. "A lot."

The canary piped up, "It's true. And the other thing is, my sister had a baby and I took it in because she passed away. It's lost one of it's wings and may never be able to fly but I still take care of it with my wife and it's growing and it's fairly happy, but it's difficult 'cause I've been working a second shift at the factory to put food on the table, but every time I see the love in that little guy's face it makes it all worth it in the end. True story."

Harry wiped a tear from his eye.

Lino frowned, "I'm not asking you anymore, Harry. I'm telling you. Eat the bird!"

The canary gasped and looked over at Harry and saw the hesitation in his eyes. "No!" he cried in his tiny chirpy voice. "Have mercy!"

"Eat!" shouted Lino.

"Don't eat!" yelled the canary and the other canaries began to join in. Begging Harry not to eat they're friend.

"Son, eat the bird!" Lino insisted.

"No! Have mercy!" the canary begged.

"POP!" Harry burst out. "PUT THE BIRD DOWN!" He grabbed the little bird out of Lino's paw. Then he picked up the canary cocktail and tossed all the little birds out the window. "Go on!" he told them. "No one's looking. Get outta here. You're free. Now go go go!"

"Yay! We're free!" The canaries flew for their lives.

One canary turned back. "Thank you. You're a good person." He said to Harry. He glared at Lino and then he was gone.

The entire restaurant went eerily silent as a hundred griffins and other creatures turned to look at Lino's table. Harry turned back to his father.

Bruce broke the silence, "Pop, I can handle the city. It's not a problem-"

"No, no." Lino said. "We're gonna do this as a family." He turned to his oldest son. "Bruce, I want you to take Harry out and show him the ropes."

"Aw, come on pop." Bruce groaned.

Lino turned back to his youngest son and poked him sharply in the chest, "Son, you are gonna learn how to be a griffin…whether you like it or not!"


	4. Un Lucky Day

Griffin Tale

Chapter 4

Un-Lucky Day

In his Very Important Creature booth at the racing track, Sykes was pacing back and forth, waiting for Yugi. "I'm tellin' you." He said, glancing at Ernie and Bernie. "That kid better show up or he's dead meat."

Ernie glowed briefly, "Just say the word, boss."

At that very moment, the kid – with the money – was walking up to the racetrack. "Okay, I give this bag of money to Mr Sykes and then I'm outta trouble and in Yami and Mai's good books again." Yugi kept repeating to himself as he walked.

Suddenly, two men raced past Yugi to get to the betting window. Yugi panicked as the envelope slipped out of his hands and slid across the floor. He quickly raced over to it. He sighed with relief as he held it close to his chest. He over-heard the two men as he passed them.

"Are you sure about this?" one of them said.

"A trainer of mine tipped me off." Said the second. "It's a fix! The whole thing's rigged!"

"So what's the horse's name?" asked the first.

"Lucky Day." Said the second.

Yugi stopped walking. "Lucky Day." He breathed. "Top of the city here I come!" The he shook himself. "Remember what Mhairi said. Remember what Mhairi said." He shook himself again, "What did Mhairi say?"

"Dreams can begin small too. You just have to…bet it all! Bet it all!"

That didn't sound right…did it? Yugi rubbed his eyes. He could just see it…Lucky Day crossing the finish line…his five thousand dollars traded in for…a million dollars! Yugi raced for the betting window. "Five thousand dollars on Lucky Day!" he said confidently, handing over the envelope to the cashier.

"At two hundred to one, that would pay…a million dollars!" noted the cashier.

"Well, then," said Yugi confidently, "I guess that makes me Yugi the millionaire!"

At the far end of the hall, the words 'the millionaire' hung in the air like strand of freshwater pearls. Rebecca's head snapped up.

Rebecca. Her name was famous all over the city. She was the most beautiful, most alluring girl in the entire city. She had long golden flowing locks and crystal blue eyes. When she passed by, boys fainted. Many had tried to win her, but until now, no one had. Now she was walking up to Yugi. "Nice bet." She said huskily.

Yugi looked around. Standing in front of him was the most gorgeous girl he had ever seen. A complete stunner. A vision of beauty. His mouth hung open.

"You gotta name?" the vision asked.

He nodded, unable to say anything.

"You wanna tell me what it is?" the vision went on.

He nodded again.

"Well, mine's Rebecca." Rebecca turned and looked over her shoulder, gesturing for Yugi to follow. Then she started to walk off.

Yugi shook his head, hard and slapped his face. _"Gotta get it together!"_ he thought. _"She's gonna think I have no class!" _

He darted after her. "So, Rebecca," he said, trying not to trip over his own feet. "My name's Yugi. Yugi Motou."

"You know, Yugi," Rebecca said, "I've always wanted to watch the race from the VIC seats."

"Really?" Yugi said eagerly. "Me too!"

"Well?" Rebecca waited.

Yugi thought fast. No way was he going to be able to get into the VIP section. That's when he spotted Sykes, walking over to the concession stand with Ernie and Bernie.

Sykes spotted Yugi at the same time. "I was starting to think you'd skipped out on me-" he began.

Covering, Yugi turned to Rebecca. "He's one of my top employees." He told her. Then he turned back to Sykes.

"Hey!" Yugi said, slapping Sykes on the back. "On your way to the concession stand? Great! Would you mind bringing us back some sodas? That would be great. Thanks!"

And before the startled Sykes could respond, Yugi turned to Rebecca. "Come on." He said, pushing her gently away from Sykes. "Let me escort you to my box."

Sykes mouth dropped open. "YOUR box!" he said. "You can't even afford the gum under the seats!"

"He just laid five grand on Lucky Day." Rebecca said smugly.

"Five grand?" Sykes stopped for a moment. Then his eyes widened. "MY FIVE GRAND?" He shrieked.

"No!" Yugi said quickly. "It was another five grand."

"You had the money to pay me back and you bet it anyway?" Sykes screamed. "Gimme that!" He grabbed the betting slip out of Yugi's hand.

Rebecca looked from Sykes to Yugi and back again. "Clearly, I've made a mistake." She said, starting to walk away.

Yugi looked after her despairingly, "No, Rebecca, wait-"

Rebecca turned. "Look," she said, shrugging her lovely shoulders. "Deep down, I'm really superficial. And…don't get me wrong…you're cute. But you're a nobody." Then she walked away.

Yugi stared after her as Bernie and Ernie bounced around him chanting "Loser" and "Weener" over and over again.

_A nobody_. Her words echoed in his head.

"You are in trouble up to yer ears." Sykes hissed as he hustled Yugi into his booth. "And, yet, still you're askin' for more. Now get in there."

"I'm tellin' you, Yugi." Sykes said as he fetched a drink out of the ice box while Yugi sat on his chair. "You'd better pray that this horse of yours comes through."

Sykes shook his head in disbelief. "Betting my five grand." He turned to see Yugi on his sofa. "Hey, you! What are you doin' in my chair? Get outta my chair!"

Ernie and Bernie pulled Yugi off of Sykes' chair and placed him in between them on they're chair.

"Sit tight and watch the race." Bernie said.

"With you're good eye." Ernie chuckled.

Bernie laughed.

The racetrack announcer's voice filled the air. _"And the runners are lining up at the past…"_

Yugi looked up at the huge silver screen as it showed the ten racing unicorns. Each unicorn was a different colour and they each had a number coat on they're backs.

Number 10 was a bright yellow unicorn with a black mane and tail. She was also black around her legs, eyes and ears, and she had golden – yellow eyes. Her yellow coat was as golden as the sun so she was named Sunrise.

Number 9 was a rich black unicorn with a golden mane and tail. He was gold around his face, left front hoof and had a golden strpe running down from his muzzle to his tail. His name was Beau.

Number 8 was a snowy white unicorn with a silver mane and tail. Her eyes were clouded and unfocused. She was blind. Because she was born blind and had learned to 'see' her world through sight and smell she had been named was Plague.

Number 7 was a bright orange unicorn with a red mane and tail. He was also red around his face, underneck and underbelly. His name was Outlaw.

Number 6 was a medium purple unicorn with a yellow mane and tail. He was also yellow around his muzzle, ears, eyes, neck and legs. It was none – other than Lucky Day.

Number 5 was a moolit silver unicorn with a brown mane and tail. She was also brown around her muzzle, underneck, underbelly and legs. As the colours of her coat resembled the colours of treasure she was named was Treasure.

Number 4 was a grass – green unicorn with a orange mane and tail. She was also orange around her muzzle and legs. Her name was Nature Gaurdian.

Number 3 was a sky blue unicorn with a grass – green mane and tail. He was also green around his face and middle. He was the 3rd place champion and because he was fast amd competetive in races his name was Tornado.

Number 2 was a fire – red unicorn with a purple mane and tail. He was also purple around his muzzle, back and legs. He was the 2nd place champion and as his red coat resembled that of flames his name was Inferno.

Number 1 was a beautiful golden unicorn with a white mane and tail. He was also white around his muzzle, underneck, underbelly and legs. He was the 1st place champion and he ran so fast and gracefully as if he were on wings so it had earned him his name as Pegasus.

"_And they're off!"_ the announcer shouted._ "Out of the gate, it's Pegasus followed by Inferno and Tornado! The long shot, Lucky Day, appears to be having trouble getting out of the gate…"_

"What!" Yugi jumped out of his seat and stared at the track.

"_The gate appears to be stuck!"_ the announcer was saying. Sure enough the blue unicorn was banging on the gate with his fore hooves and head, trying to get out.

Sykes turned to Yugi. "You –" he began.

"No, no, don't sweat it!" Yugi said, crossing his fingers. "He does this all the time."

"_But what's this?"_ the announcer went on. _"Lucky Day is now crashing his way through the gate…and he's off and running! Down the first straight, it's Inferno, Pegasus, and Lucky Day!"_

"See!" Yugi said, pounding Sykes on the back. "What did I tell you? Go fast, Lucky Day! Go fast!"

"_Coming round the far turn, it's Inferno by a length and Lucky Day well behind the pack. And here comes Lucky Day, coming up from behind, passing Sunrise, Tornado…and coming up on Pegasus!" _

"I'm getting' tired just thinking about counting all this money." Yugi said, jumping onto the sofa beside Sykes as the birdman waved the betting slip in the air while laughing happily.

"_And in the final, here comes Lucky Day! Lucky Day's now caught up to Pegasus! They're head to head…neck to neck! What a trouper! Look at Lucky Day go!"_

"We're rich!" Sykes shouted. He picked Yugi up and twirled him around in sheer happiness.

Yugi just laughed.

Suddenly, Lucky Day seemed to stumble.

"Wha – " Yugi began.

Lucky Day flipped over his nose, legs kicking wildly. Then he crashed to the turf.

"_Oh no! What on earth happened?"_ The voice of the loudspeaker was shocked. A groan went up from the crowd. "_Lucky Day is down! And, here comes Pegasus, followed by Inferno, Tornado…and Pegasus wins! A very, very, unlucky day for the long shot, Lucky Day!"_

Yugi gulped. Now he was in for it.

Sykes had heard the loudspeaker. "What happened?" he turned and dropped Yugi in a heap on the ground.

"Wait! Wait!" Yugi began, picking himself up.

But Sykes was staring up at the tote board. The name Pegasus popped up on top.

"_It's a sad day for Lucky Day,"_ the announcer said solemnly. _"And that's way they call him a long shot."_ Sykes started to puff up.

"Remember your happy place!" Yugi said.

Sykes growled.

"That was crazy, right?" Yugi went on, sidling towards the door. "Who knew? I mean, everything's set, we're good to go, and he trips on four legs. Who in the halibit trips with _four legs_? And by the way, on _what_?"

Feathers popped off of Sykes' body as he blew. "That's it!" he squeaked. "I've had it! Ernie, Bernie, I want you to find the deepest, darkest hole outside the city and when you do, dig deeper, AND PUT HIM IN IT!"

Yugi frantically looked around for a way to escape. But Bernie and Ernie grabbed him and gagged him. Before Yugi knew what was happening the two dragons had tied him up and dumped him in the back of a car.

"Sorry to do this to ya, kid!" Sykes squeaked, hovering in the air. "It's nothin' personal, it's just business!"

Ernie and Bernie shut the back and drove off. Yugi sighed. It seemed that his lucky day was over before it even began.


	5. The Great White Lie

Griffin Tale

Chapter 5

The Great White Lie

"Don't worry 'bout a t'ing, Yugi." Ernie said, smiling evilly. "Sykes, he like you, mon. Him say take it easy on you."

"Ooooh." Bernie opened his eyes wide. "But Sykes is not here."

"True!" Ernie nodded. He smiled again.

Yugi's heart sank. These guys were clearly not going to take it easy on him. Not at all. He was far away from the city at an old abandoned warehouse that was all in peaces. He was tied to a tree with a piece of tape over his mouth.

Zzzzzzap! Ernie touched him on the arm with one of his stingers. Yugi jumped. It was going to be a very long night…

* * *

About two hundred yards away, Bruce was barrelling through the air. Harry lagged behind. Harry always lagged behind.

"Bruce, why can't pop just listen to me for once?" Harry called to his older brother. "You know I can't do this. It's ridiculous!"

Bruce looked back, "Look, Harry if you wanna make pop happy then you gotta kill something!"

"Or I could find a very old sick person and just wait." Harry suggested as he caught up with his brother.

"Yeah." Bruce looked at Harry. "But you gotta change, Har. It's getting' around, your thing the other day in the restaurant. You know how people love to talk…this, that, the other, then how ya doin' – boom! Forget about your dead."

Harry cocked an eyebrow at his brother, "Okay, seriously, I can't understand wise-guys so you'll have to be more pacific."

"Pacific?" Bruce growled. "Oh, you want pacific. Be a griffin for once in you're life!" Bruce swatted his brother.

"Ow!" Harry groaned. "Oh, what am I gonna do?"

Bruce looked at his younger brother and his eyes softened…slightly. Bruce sighed, "Look. Forget about it, okay? We do a couple of practice runs, you're a griffin, pop's happy, life goes on._ Capisce_?"

Harry nodded, "Okay, okay. _Capisce_."

Bruce looked around for a likely victim and there, just feet away, was Yugi. Bruce grinned evilly. _"This is too easy."_

"Bingo!" he breathed as he landed a few feet away behind some bushes. "Right there. Dead ahead. You see it? TV dinner. Don't get no easier than this."

"All right." Harry squared his shoulders. He was determined to prove to that he could run the city. "I can do this." He suddenly deflated. Harry still didn't like the idea of eating creatures smaller than himself. "Bruce, what if I can't do this?"

Bruce looked at him, "Then don't bother comin' home."

Good point." Harry turned and stared to hover towards Yugi.

Yugi, in the meantime, was in the middle of getting some shock treatments from Ernie and Bernie. Yugi made a face as Ernie zapped him on his nose.

"Hit him in the nose again!" Bernie laughed. "I like the funny face he makes." Bernie suddenly spotted something behind Yugi that made his jaw drop down to his waist. "Erine!" he cried, pointing.

"BLOW OUT!" Ernie cried. They were gone before Yugi could blink.

"_Gotta get outta here! Gotta get outta here!"_ Yugi thought. Yami and Mai had told him to never be this far away from the city. Griffins and other creatures were always wandering through the countryside. He tugged at the rope and freed one arm. He ripped the tape off his mouth.

"Hey, guys..." Yugi called after the dragons, not even noticing that Harry was intches from him. "Come on, don't leave me out here! There could be griffins out here!"

Yugi suddenly felt a beat of wings behind him. Yugi felt his heart skip a beat. He slowly turned around. The open mouth of a griffin was right on top of him. "AHHHHHHHHHH!" he screamed. Yugi tried desperatly to run away. But he was still tied to the tree.

Harry stared down at Yugi in concern. "Oh, no! Wait! I'm sorry – no, no, I'm not gonna hurt you - "

"Harry!"

Harry turned to see his brother, sitting about twenty yards away.

"Like this!" Bruce called, chomping down with his strong jaws.

"Oh, boy..." Harry turned back to Yugi. He took a deep breath. He stuck out his tongue and licked Yugi. It tasted yucky. Harry made a face.

"Eeew! Yuck! Griffin drool!" Yugi groaned. He pushed Harry's beck back with his free arm, "Don't eat me! If you do, don't chew me and I hope you choke!"

Harry stared at Yugi. Chew him? He doubted that he could even lick the little guy again without upchucking. Harry looked down at Yugi with gentle eyes. In a way, he liked this kid and he certainly didn't want to eat him. Harry suddenly had an idea.

"Listen, I'm not gonna eat you." Harry whispered, leaning close to Yugi so Bruce wouldn't hear. "I'm not even gonna lick you again."

"What?" Yugi asked, opening his eyes which he had closed when Harry had leaned over. Yugi couldn't believe what he was hearing. This griffin wasn't going to eat him. Was this some kind of trick? "How do I know you're not trying to trick me?"

Harry stared Yugi in the eye, "You have to trust me."

Yugi looked into the great creature's golden-yellow eyes. In Harry's eyes Yugi saw that he was telling the truth. His eyes were kind and gentle with no sign of hunger or hatred. Harry saw very much the same in Yugi's amethyst-violet eyes. For a moment, they held each others gaze then Yugi nodded, letting Harry know that he trusted him.

"Don't move until I tell you." Harry said through gritted teeth as he quickly glanced over his shoulder at his brother. He opened his mouth, showing rows of razor-sharp incisors as he made a huge lunge towards Yugi.

"Ahhhh! Back it up!" Yugi yelped. He closed his eyes.

Instead of swallowing Yugi whole, the griffin bit through the rope that tied Yugi to the tree. Harry flapped his great wings and thrashed his powerful head about furiously as dust and dirt flew around him and Yugi.

Yugi crashed to the ground and opened his eyes. He watched as the Headfeathered Griffin chewed on the piece of rope as if his life depended on it. _"Better the rope than me."_ he thought.

In the meantime, from where he was sitting, all Bruce could see was the action of Harry's jaws. "That's it, Har!" he cried. "There you go, buddy! Flap those wings, baby! Dig in!"

"Listen," Harry said out of the corner of his mouth, still chewing and thrashing about. "I'm sorry if I scared you. Now when I turn around you take off."

"Right." Yugi got up, ready to run.

Harry turned around making it look as if he was eating Yugi instead of the rope. "Tastes just like chicken."

But as the dust cleared Bruce saw Yugi running away. "Oh no!" Bruce groaned. "That's it! I've had it up ti' here!" Bruce lunched himself into the air and screeched angrily.

Fear gripped Yugi's heart. He had never heard a screech with so much anger in it. He turned ... only to see Bruce barrelling towards him, his mouth wide open. "Oh no!" he screamed.

"Hurry!" Harry urged. "Run!" He turned towards his brother. "Bruce – wait!"

But Bruce wasn't waiting. He flew past Harry towards Yugi.

"Ahhhh! Help me!" Yugi screamed as he ran for dear life. "Please, someone help me!"

Yugi could hear the pounding of his own heart. He thought about his family and friends. What would his beloved brother and sister do when they found out he was gone? And what about Mhairi? His most loyal and trusted friend. It would break they're hearts. Yugi ran faster than he ever had in his life. He knew that he had to keep on running, for his family and friends sake.

Yugi ran as fast as he could, but the great griffin was faster. Yugi and Bruce passed the old warehouse. The old and rotting building was rusting and slowly collapsing in the wind. Bruce's wings beat faster and faster. He was getting closer and closer -

_SMASH!_

One of the metal poles holding the building up suddenly gave way and crashed down on top of Bruce.The griffin'sjaws slammed shut and he hit the ground with a thud.

Yugi fell to the ground with the force of Bruce's impact. He crouched down as bricks and rubble fell everywhere, and dust and dirt kicked up. When all the thundering stopped, Yugi slowly rose to his hands and knees. He looked behind him to see what had happened.

When the dust cleared a horrific sight greeted Harry. Crushed and trapped beneath all the rubble was the limb body of his brother.

"Bruce!" Harry raced to his brother's side. With a slash and snap of his powerful teeth and claws, he tossed and threw the rubble aside. Then he cradled his dying brother in his arms.

"Harry...?" whispered Bruce, coughing. "Harry, is that you?"

"I'm here, Bruce." Harry said, soothingly stroking his older brother's head feathers.

"Come closer..." Bruce gasped. He was in great pain.

"Yes, what is it?"

"I feel so cold..." Bruce whispered.

Harry lay beside his brother and wrapped his wings around him, trying to press his body heat to him. "It's okay, Bruce." Harry said, nuzzling his neck. "You're gonna be alright."

Bruce slapped him affectionately. "You know I don't like cuddles..." he said as his eyes rolled back in his head and his breathing stopped. He was gone.

"Bruce, no. NOOOOOOOOO!" Harry cried, tears streaming down his face. He turned to Yugi in despair. "This is all my fault." He turned back to his brother. "I'm so sorry, Bruce." he sobbed. Then he stopped short. "How am I ever gonna explain this to Pop?" he groaned. He flew away crying and muttering to himself.

Yugi watched as the griffin flew away. Once Harry was gone he turned to look at the dead griffin. The sight of the lifeless animal saddened Yugi a little. But on the other hand, this beast had tried to eat Yugi so he got what he deserved. Whoever this Bruce was, he was sleeping with the fishes now... and that was just fine with Yugi.

Yugi was ALIVE! "Hah, got what was comin' to ya didn't ya big guy?" Yugi jumped onto Bruce's lifeless head. "Think you're gonna make a meal outta me, huh?" he chortled.

"Uh, Yugi?"

Yugi turned. There, standing just below him, were Ernie and Bernie, looking terrified. Yugi was terrified too, he didn't want to be stung by they're stingers anymore. He quickly hid behind the dead griffin's wing.

Bernie looked down at Bruce. Then he looked up at Yugi. "Don't hurt us, man! We're sorry! It was all Ernie's idea!"

Ernie nodded. Then he frowned at his brother.

Yugi poked his head out from behind the griffin's wing. He cocked an eyebrow at the two dragons. What was going on?

Ernie pointed at Bruce's body. "Yugi?" he asked.

"Did you kill that griffin?" Bernie added.

Yugi couldn't believe what he was hearing. These two idiots thought that he had killed the griffin! He was just about to tell them the truth when he stopped short. Bernie and Ernie were looking at him with respect. No one had ever looked at him that way before. Yugi decided that he wanted to keep that respect. "Uh, yeah!" he said. "Exactly how it looks is how it is."

"What happened?" Ernie asked, impressed.

"You wanna know what happened?" Yugi said.

"Yeah! You're standing on top of a griffin!" Bernie said.

"Go on, mon." Ernie said.

"Well," Yugi said, thinking fast. "I'll tell you what happened..."


	6. Hero or Zero

Griffin Tale

Chapter 6

Hero or Zero

The next day, at the Drago Wash, Yugi was telling his story for the twentieth time. A huge crowd had gathered. Flashbulbs popped as photographers ran in to get pictures. Mhairi, Yami, Mai and the others stood nearby. They were so proud of Yugi. And Yugi? Well, he was having the time of his life.

"Hey, Yugi!" cried a reporter. "How big was the griffin?"

"Oh, about seventy – five or a hundred feet long." Yugi said casually.

"What happened next?" another reporter called, jotting down notes.

"Well, he's flying at me, right?" Yugi said. "With teeth like razors."

"Whoa, like razors?" Emily gasped, amazed.

"Awesome!" Mokuba said, impressed.

"And he came at me with razor – sharp claws." Yugi continued, loving all the attention. "Dripping fangs and burning eyes. And I was thinking, you think you're gonna make a meal outta me? I don't think so!"

"Oh, yeah!" Joey cheered. "You the man, Yug!" He gave his friend a thumbs up.

"Yeah, you got guts!" Tristan chimed in.

"Hey, do the muscle thing!" Mhairi urged him, pointing at her arm.

"Oh, right!" Yugi nodded. "So I told that guy, I pointed like this, you see this guy-" Yugi pointed to his right arm. "Well, he's got a brother! And he lives right over here!" Yugi flexed his left arm. "And I think it's time for a little..."

Everyone chimed in, "Family reunion!"

The crowd went wild. Yugi looked around with a huge smile on his face. He had never felt so appreciated before. Joey and the other guys pounced on Yugi and gave him noogies while Mhairi and the other girls smothered him in tight hugs.

Yami took his younger brother into his arms, "Yugi, we're so proud of you."

Mai wrapped her arms around her two younger brothers, "Mom and dad would be so proud of you."

Yugi's eyes glowed with happiness. His brother and sister were proud of him. Yugi felt a great sense of love fill his heart.

"That's what happened." Ernie said, nodding to a camera.

"Excuse me..." said a voice.

"We was right there." Bernie agreed.

"Move it!" Katie Current shouted.

"Sorry, sorry!" Ernie said as she shoved past him and Bernie.

"She seems so nice on TV." he muttered to Bernie.

"Yugi," she said sweetly, sticking her microphone in his face and shoving the others away. "As the first person in history to ever take on a griffin and win, tell me, does this mean you're now protector of the city, new sheriff in town, the big kahuna?"

"Katie, I'm gonna keep it real." Yugi said modestly. His eyes narrowed, "Any griffin tries to mess in Yugitown is goin' down!"

The crowd screamed. Mhairi beamed. Yami and Mai looked on with pride. Joey and the others cheered out Yugi's name. Katie touched up her lipstick.

Yugi just stood there, drinking in the adulation. It had happened. He was finally a somebody. He was going all the way to the top.

* * *

Right in front of the Jumbotron in Times Square, Rebecca stopped short. The rich halibut walking behind her and carrying her packages, bumped into her. Rebecca didn't even notice, she was too busy staring up at the fifty – foot picture of Yugi. _"Hmmm!"_ Rebecca stood there for a moment, lost in thought. _"Yugi?"_

She turned to the halibut. "You know, this isn't gonna work out." she told him sweetly, grabbing the packages. "But hey! There are plently of fish in the sea!"

"What did I do?" the halibut asked pathetically.

But Rebecca had already gone.

* * *

Back at the Drago Wash, reporters were still shouting questions at Yugi. 

"Okay, okay!" Sykes walked up to his side. "Get outta here, you vultures! Any further questions will be fielded by me."

"And you are?" Katie asked.

"I'm his manager." he replied. "Sykes, with a 'y'."

Yugi looked over at Sykes. He arched an eyebrow. His manager? "Uh, would you excuse us for a moment please?" Yugi said to the crowd. He grabbed Sykes and pulled him aside, "My manager?"

"Kid, you're a superstar!" Sykes positively gushed. "We're gonna make a fortune! Just let me handle it."

"What about the five G's?" Yugi asked suspiciously.

"Forget the five G's!" Sykes said expansively whilst throwing his arm around Yugi's shoulder. "From now on, we're partners."

Yugi slipped out from under Sykes arm, "So what exactly are we talking about here?"

Sykes did some calculations, "I'm thinkin'...what? Nighty – ten split?"

Yugi was surprised, "That's actually really quite generous."

"You're the ten." Sykes said quickly. "I take my ninety off the top."

Yugi shook his head, "I don't think so!"

"Talk to me." Sykes said fawningly.

"You get fifteen-" Yugi began.

"Seventy!" Sykes countered.

"Twenty!"

"Seventy – five!"

"Sykes!" Yugi held up a hand. "You going the wrong way."

The young teenager and old bird creature looked at one another. "Fifty – fifty!" they said in unison.

"You happy?" Sykes asked.

"No." Yugi replied. "You happy?"

"No." Sykes said.

"Deal." they said in unison again. They shook hands. Then they turned back to the crowd.

"My manager and I are now prepared to take your questions." Yugi announced.

"Yugi," Katie asked. "Are you going to continue to work at the Drago Wash?"

Yugi smiled, "Please, I barely work here now."

The crowd bust out laughing. Yugi laughed along too. He couldn't believe that everyone was laughing along to his joke. No one had ever done that before. This was all very new to Yugi. He could get used to this.

"Hah! Keep it up, kid." Sykes pounded him on the back. "You're slaying 'em!"

"No!" Katie said. "He's slaying GRIFFINS!"

"Hey, hey!" Sykes said. "That's good. I like that. Yugi – the Griffinslayer!"

"Whoa, a Griffinslayer!" the shorties said in awe.

The crowd cheered and more flashbulbs popped. "Yugi! Yugi! Yugi!" the crowd chanted. Joey and Seto picked Yugi up and hosted him up onto they're shoulders.

Yugi grinned and posed for the cameras. At long last, his dream had come true. He was now a sombody. Things could only get better.

"You heard it here first, folks!" Katie Current announced on the Jumbotron. "Any griffin tries to mess around here it's his funeral."

The crowd went wild.

* * *

The crowd at Bruce's funeral was far more solemn. Slowly, six griffins carried Bruce's casket to the hole. Lino and his wife watched, ashen – faced. 

As the griffins tilted the casket over, Bruce's wrapped body slid quietly out.

Lino watched as it slumped down into the hole and as the other griffins began to bury it. Bruce was gone. Harry was gone...and no one knew where to. Lino would have his revenge.

Later, at the wake, Don Feinberg was singing a farewell song in honour of the dear departed. Don Feinberg was an ancient tiger griffin. He had just the head and wings of a eagle, but the rest of his body was that of a tiger's.

He had a beautiful orange and black striped coat, and brown and golden coloured feathers. But he was slightly greyish on his body and around the feathers on his head due to old age. He had sharp ice-blue eyes, a razor sharp beak and four razor sharp black claws on all four of his paws. He loved to sing. And since he was old and respected, no one had the nerve to tell him to shut up.

"I could fly higher than an eagle!" he crooned. "If you are the wind beneath my wings!" he coughed as he finished his song. "Bruce, we'll miss you." he said, raising his glass.

The other griffins raised they're glasses, "To Bruce."

Lino sat in a comfortable chair at the far end of the room. He sat slightly slumped in his chair, sighing and rubbing his temples from time to time. Behind him floated Luca, his Amphithere Dragon lieutenant.

Luca looked like a cross between a dragon and a pheonix. He had no legs or arms and bluish – green scaly skin and feathers. He had a small feathery mane on his head, small feathers on his back, long feathers on the end of his whip – like tail, huge feathery wings, sharp ambre – brown eyes and small sharp fangs. Much like Ernie and Bernie, Luca didn't have much brain power, but he was slightly smarter than them.

Giuseppe the Hippogriff walked up to pay his respects. Giuseppe had just the front half of a eagle, but the rest of his body was that of a horse's.

He had a beautiful white and grey spotted coat, and silver - grey coloured feathers. But he had a long flowing silvery - white tail. He had sharp dark-green eyes, a razor sharp beak and razor sharp black claws on his talons.

"It's a terrible thing, Don Lino." he said, bowing his head. "Everybody loved Bruce. May whoever did this die a thousand deaths. May his stinkin', maggot – covered corpse rot in the fiery depths of hell."

Lino nodded, "Thank you for you're kind thoughts, Giuseppe."

The Hippogriff nodded and kissed Lino's paw. "Oh!" Giuseppe added. "May Harry be found safe and sound, too. Hope he's okay." then he left.

"Oh, Harry!" Lino groaned.

Luca patted him on the shoulder, "Don't worry, boss."

Lino shook his head. "I said some terrible things to him." he said. "We gotta find him."

"We're searching everywhere." Luca told him, as he made the griffin some tea. "Forget about it. He'll turn up."

"What's wrong with that kid? Why's he gotta be so different?" Lino moaned. "Bruce...god rest his soul, he was perfect. Perfect!"

Outside, Harry, who'd been peaking in at the window, heard what his father said. A tear fell from his eye. He'd never be able to go home now. He turned and flew away.

Back inside, Mrs Lino sat at a table near her husband, sobbing, as other griffins tried to comfort her.

"Look what's happened to my family." Lino turned to Luca, "Oh Luca, who could've done this?"

Just then, Don Feinberg walked up. "Don Lino." he wheezed. "At this most difficult time, please accept my deepest condolences." He burped. "Good eats." he added, patting his stomach.

Lino nodded gravely, "Thank you, Don Feinberg. For honouring my son with you're song."

Don Feinberg leant towards Lino. "I got some news." he said. "About the guy who took out, Bruce."

Lino's eyes lit up, "Let's talk over here."

The two griffins walked over to the edge of the ballroom. Luca followed at a discreet distance.

"He came outta nowhere, this guy." Don Feinberg told him. "Calls himself the Griffinslayer." the elderly griffin made a frightening pose, but to his other side.

Lino cleared his throat. "Don, over here." he said, tapping the other griffin on the shoulder.

"Oh! The Griffinslayer." Don Feinberg repeted, posing again.

"Where do I find him?" Lino's paws clenched.

Don Feinberg burped again. "He's from Domino City – that's all we could dig up."

"Thank you." Lino said, bowing slightly to the older griffin. "Thank you."

Don Feinberg kissed Lino on both cheeks. Then he walked away. "Having requests, how about that titanic song?" he asked.

The other griffins moaned.

"Luca!" Lino snapped his paw. "Get Sykes. He knows that city better than anybody. I wanna find this guy. I wanna know everything about him. I wanna know where he lives. I wanna know where he sleeps. He pops a gill? I wann know about it."

Rage gleamed in Lino's blood – red eyes. "Who is the Griffinslayer?" he said vehemently.


	7. Big Mistake

Griffin Tale

Chapter 7

Big Mistake

Out in Domino City, things were working out brilliantly for Yugi. His picture had appeared on the front of every newspaper, every magazine and every poster. He had been awarded many trophys, certificates and medals. He had even been given the key to the city by the mayor.

But best of all – Yugi's dream had finally come true. He been given thousands of dollars for slaying the griffin, and he and his brother and sister were able to move out of their stuffy old apartment in that grubby old street. They had moved into a big, flash new penthouse. Complete with floor to ceiling lava lamp.

Yugi was now the most famous person in the whole country. Everyone just couldn't get enough of him. Things were rocking at Yugi's penthouse right now. Paparazzi snapped as one celebrity after another walked through the doors. Downstairs, screaming, swooning fans were kept behind barricades by a squad of police troops.

Yugi looked around his new home as their guests danced the night away to the blaring music.

Black leather couches and a carved coral coffee table were almost hidden by the hordes of well – dressed guests that walked around, carrying drinks and looking like they were somebodies. The latest in electronics – including a large flat – screen TV and video game player – were housed in giant cabinets decorated with mother – of – pearl.

In the corner, Bernie and Ernie stood at two turntables, doing hip – hop scratches.

Yami and Mai watched as Yugi took a microphone and stood in front of Bernie. Or was it Ernie? They're eyes shone with pride as everyone turned to look at him.

"Okay!" Yugi shouted into the microphone. "Let's get this party started right!" He turned to the dragon brothers, "Alright, kick it guys!"

Bernie and Ernie twirled their records with they're hands and tails. The crowd erupted in cheers.

Yami took his younger brother into his arms and gave him a crushing hug, "Yugi, I know you're probably tired of hearing of this, but, we're so proud of you. You've grown up so much."

Yugi smiled, "Thanks bro!" he returned the hug.

"You've done great, little bro!" Mai said, taking Yugi into her arms. "Dad would be so proud if he could see how far you've come." she kissed him gently on his cheek.

"Aww, Mai, not in front of the guys!" Yugi said, wiping the kiss off while blushing furiously.

Yami and Mai only laughed.

Just then Sykes walked up, "There he is. The king of the city, new sheriff in town, the big kahuna!" he gave Yugi a playful punch on the shoulder.

"Sykes!" Yugi chuckled, rubbing his shoulder.

"Pound that kid!" Sykes, held out his wing. "Pound it!"

Yugi exchanged high – fives with the bird man.

"Yugi!" Sykes chanted while dancing. "Rise the city! Rise the city, buddy!" Sykes twirled and swirled, swung and swayed. The bird man went crazy doing out of tune dances with the music. He looked absolutely ridiculous!

Yugi exchanged nervous glances with his older siblings. They slowly moved away from the dancing bird man. Being seen with him would be so embarrassing.

Just then the elevator doors opened and the others walked in. Yugi, Yami and Mai went up to greet them. Yugi and Yami exchanged high fives with the guys while Mai and the girls exchanged friendship hugs.

Yugi walked up to Mhairi, who was hiding something behind her back, and began to twirl her around, "Hey, Mhairi I'm glad you're here!"

Mhairi clutched her gift while making sure that Yugi didn't see it. "Wait, wait!" she laughed. "You'll break our gift!"

Yugi stopped, touched. "Aw, come on! You guys didn't need to get me anything."

"Sure we did, Yug!" Joey said, ruffling his little friend's spiky hair.

"Yeah, you're a hero now, Yugi." Tea said, giving him a hug.

"Aw, thanks guys." Yugi blushed. "What'd you get me?"

"Well, what does every bachelor pad need?" Mhairi teased. She took the gift out from behind her back. It was a purple lava lamp.

A wide smile spread across Yugi's lips, "A lava lamp! How did you know that I love lava lamps? I'm gonna put it right next to my other one."

Mhairi looked up. There, beside the couch, was a giant lava lamp. It was so tall that it almost touched the ceiling. Mhairi was embarrassed and she was pretty sure that the others were too. Their gift looked puny by comparison. But Yugi didn't seem to notice.

Yami walked up to his girlfriend who was none other than Mimi and led her away as Mai did with Kenai. The others followed, leaving Yugi and Mhairi alone.

"C'mon." he said, taking her by the hand. "I wanna show you the best thing about this place." Yugi guided Mhairi through the crowd to the floor – to – ceiling glass windows that led out to the terrace. He opened them and walked outside.

"This is the balcony." Yugi said, leaning on the banister. "How great is this view?"

Mhairi looked around. Yugi's apartment was at the top of the city, all right. Up here, the lights sparkled like little jewels. "Top of the city..." Mhairi gasped. "It's...it'...amazing."

She looked at him, her heart fluttered. He was just so handsome. His rather tanned skin shone in the moonlight and his dark hair turned silver. Looking into his eyes, those beautiful violet orbs sparkled like amethysts and they held a child – like innocence.

"I know." Yugi said, smiling. "It's beautiful."

"Like you." Mhairi said under her breath.

Yugi looked over at her, "Huh?"

"Like you're...uh...uh...new apartment." she covered quickly. "It's, wow. Awesome!" Mhairi drew in a breath then placed a gentle hand upon Yugi's. "What I'm trying to say is that...I'm proud of you, Yugi."

"Thanks." Yugi smiled, giving her hand a gentle squeeze. He knew that Mhairi believed in him and that she always would. There was no doubt to say that he was very greatful. Then he remembered something that he had for her, "Hey, hey! You know what? Wait right here. Don't move. I'll be right back. Girl, you are gonna flip!"

Yugi darted away. Before Mhairi even had a change to draw a breath, he was back again. Behind his back he was hiding something.

"You know, Mhairi," he began as she sat upon the banister. "where I am right now, this whole new life I've got...all my dreams coming true...in a weird kinda way? Well, I never could've done it without you."

"Oh, of course you could." Mhairi said. She reached out a hand, gently stroking his long golden bangs.

Yugi smiled. He loved it when she did that. In a way, it reminded him of how his mother used to stroke his hair when he was a boy. Yugi pulled his hand out from behind his back. He was holding a small, ring – sized box.

"Oh, Yugi!" Mhairi gasped. _"I can't believe it!"_ she thought. _"He's gonna propose to me!" _

"I know, I know." Yugi was saying. "I'm just so sorry it took so long."

"Oh, that's okay." Mhairi said happily.

Yugi fumbled with the box. He opened it. There, sitting inside, was a pink pearl.

"Oh." Mhairi said flatly, her hopes shattered. "My mother's pearl."

"With interest!" Yugi said brightly. He lifted the pearl. It was connected to a string of twenty other perfect pink pearls. "I don't forget anything, and I never forget who my friends are."

"Oh." Mhairi said. She sounded disappointed.

Yugi stared at her for a moment in surprise. What was wrong with her? Wasn't she happy that he had managed to get her mother's pearl back? "Mhairi -" he began.

Suddenly the slid doors opened. Both Yugi and Mhairi turned. There, standing in the doorway, was Rebecca. Looking as glamorous as ever.

"Hi!" said Rebecca. "I'm not interrupting anything, am I?"

Mhairi stared at Rebecca. She didn't like the looks of this girl. She seemed to be a little snobbish. Mhairi wasn't going to let this girl spoil her moment with Yugi, "Yes, we're talking-"

"No! Uh uh!" Yugi said at the same time. He walked up to her, "Rebecca! Wow, you're here!" Yugi couldn't believe his luck. The most glamorous girl in the entire city was in his apartment.

Mhairi, on the other hand, wasn't at all thrilled about this. She cleared her throat.

Yugi turned to her, "Uh, you gotta come best my meet friend, Mhairi. I mean, eat my best man, Mhairi..." Yugi blushed furiously. He felt so embarrassed.

"You're best friend?" Rebecca smiled slowly. "Oh, that's sweet. Well then, you won't mind if I steal him for a while, will you?"

Before Mhairi could answer, Rebecca turned and started to walk away. Yugi followed her.

Rebecca looked over her shoulder at Mhairi and shrugged slightly. It wasn't her fault that guys responded to her this way, the shrug seemed to say.

Mhairi watched Yugi follow Rebecca back inside. Her heart sank. Why couldn't Yugi see her the way he saw Rebecca? _"So that's the kind of girl a somebody marries."_ she thought sadly.

* * *

"So." Rebecca said as she steered Yugi towards the bar. "Look who's a somebody after all."

"I mean, you know..." Yugi was tongue – tied.

The elevator doors opened. A boy darted out. "GRIFIIIIIIIINS!" he shrieked. "AT THE OURSKIRTS OF THE CITY! THEY'RE HEAD FEATHERS!"

The crowd panicked. Screams could be heard as people raced to the elevator. Others looked for places to hide.

The boy who had came in grabbed Yugi by the shirt. "Yugi, you're the Griffinslayer! Do something!"

For a moment, Yugi forgot who he was supposed to be. "What!" he yelled, surprised.

Another kid ran up to him, "Yeah, go out there and teach those griffins a lesson!"

"But I can't...I mean..." Yugi struggled.

Everyone stopped and stared at him.

Yugi looked around worriedly. There was no way he could get out of this one. If he went out to face the griffins then he'd be dinner, but if he told everyone the truth then he'd be toast. Either way, Yugi was the loser.

"I mean..." Yugi recovered in a flash. "I won't kill em' like I did with the other griffin. I'll just scare them off and make sure that they know that Yugi's in town!"

Everyone started to cheer.

"So, baby." Yugi went on, turning to Rebecca. "Just wait here and I'll gonna go ahead and take care of the griffins..."

"Go get 'em, tiger!" Sykes yelled from underneath a chair.

Yami, Mai and the others ran up to Yugi. None of them wanted him to go, but if it was his duty then they couldn't stop him.

Yami hugged his younger brother tightly, "Be careful, Yugi."

"Be safe." Mai said, hugging her brothers.

Each of his friends hugged him tightly. "Good luck, Yug." Joey said.

Mhairi surprised Yugi by kissing him gently on the cheek, "Come home safe and sound, Yugi."

Yugi blushed, touching his cheek, "I'll be fine, Mhairi." Trying to sound more confident than he felt.

He walked towards the elevator. "Those griffins will be in for a surprise!" he said, acting tough. "They'll be begging for mercy with these babies!" He flexed his arms. "They won't ever show they're ugly faces around here ever again!"

Yugi walked into the elevator. The crowd cheered. The doors closed. Yugi sank to the bottom of the car, sobbing. Now he was in for it! What was he going to do?


	8. An Unlikely Friend

Chapter 8

An Unlikely Friend

The outskirts of the city were quiet and deserted. Not a sound was to be heard and not a person or creature was in sight. Apart from the calls of the two great Headfeathered Griffins that were flying around the edge of a corn field.

"Yo, Harry!" one of the griffins called. "Harry! Where the heck are you?"

"Oh, Harrrryyy!" the other head feathered griffin called. "Where the heck is he? HARRRYYYY!"

"Hey!" the first one hissed, swatting the other upon his head. "What are you doin'! There's a _griffinslayer_ out here. You wanna be next?"

"Oh yeah." The second griffin looked around quickly. "Harrrrryyyyy...Harrrrryyyy," he said in a hushed scream.

The other griffin gave him a shove and they flew off.

In the corn crops, Yugi was desperatly praying that the griffins wouldn't find him. As he heard the sound of they're beating wings fade into the distance. Peeking out from the crops, Yugi could see the griffins flying off into the distance. He breathed a sigh of relief, "That was close."

"Too close." a voice said behind him.

Yugi froze for a second then slowly turned. And there, not inches from him, was a-

"Don't panic." the griffin said gently.

"AHHHHHH!" Yugi screeched.

"Shhhhh!" The griffin grabbed Yugi and slapped a paw over his mouth. "Hey, hey, take it easy!"

But Yugi wasn't taking it easy. He screamed against the paw that muffled his cries of help. He kicked, thrashed and scratched the creature that held him, but the great griffin was much stronger than the young boy.

"Shhh, shhh!" the griffin whispered. Trying to make Yugi calm down.

The griffin backed into the corn crops and looked worriedly around. Finally, he took his paw away from Yugi's mouth. "It's okay, we're safe." he said, breathing a sigh of relief.

Yugi stared at him. Somehow he felt he knew this griffin from somewhere. He looked at the giant creatures golden coloured fur and the blue, green and yellow feathers upon his head. Yugi then stared into the griffin's golden – yellow eyes. They were sharp, but had a warm and gentle feel to them and had absolutely no signs of hatred or anger in them. He suddenly realised who this griffin was.

"Harry?" he asked. "Is that you?"

Harry smiled, "Yeah, it's me."

Yugi returned the smile, happy that he had met a friendly face. He reached out a hand and gently stroked the feathers upon the griffin's head. Harry seemed to enjoy this as he cooed slightly.

But this tender moment of friendship was short lived as a gust of wind blew over the crops, making them rustle and sway. Harry jumped and shrieked, "AHH, WHAT WAS THAT?" He held Yugi a little too tightly.

Yugi choked as Harry's strength suffocated him. "Hello, I can't breath!"

"Oh, sorry." Harry gently placed Yugi down.

"What is with you, man?" he hissed. "You nearly choked me to death!"

Harry just looked around quickly. "Could you please keep it down!" he whispered. "_He_ could be anywhere!" There was fear and panic in his eyes.

Yugi began to feel a little uneasy at seeing the look in Harry's eyes. "Who?" he whispered.

"Shh!" Harry again put his paw over Yugi's mouth. "The griffinslayer."

A slight chuckle escaped Yugi's lips. He found it quite funny that the griffins were so terrified of him. But just because the others were afraid of him it didn't mean that Harry had to be. "There's no griffinslayer out here." he smiled.

Harry just laughed sarcastically. "Yes, there is!"

Yugi mimicked Harry's laugh. "No there isn't!" he said. "Trust me on this one!"

But Harry was scared to his wits. "GET A HOLD OF YOURSELF, MAN!" He cried hysterically while looking around frantically. "THIS IS NO TIME TO START ACTING CRAZY!"

"Hey, you're the one acting crazy, crazy!" Yugi snapped.

"I'm sorry." Harry said, taking in a deep breath. "I haven't been myself since the uh...the uh..." He put his paw to his peak. _"Oh no...don't cry..." _He thought, turning away from the young boy as his eyes began to fill with tears.

But Yugi could plainly tell that Harry was crying as he watched his large ears droop and his bottom lip tremble.

"_Oh nooo!"_ The young griffin collapsed on a soft patch of flowers, crying his heart out. Tears streamed down his face, soaking his furry cheeks.

Amethyst eyes watched with sympathy as the great creature mourned over his brother's death. Yugi felt incredibly sorry for Harry. He didn't know what he'd do if he lost his own brother. Yami meant so much to Yugi. He was like the father that he never had. Yugi didn't even know what he would do if he lost Mai either. He loved her very much. In many ways, she reminded him of his mother.

Yugi slowly approached Harry and placed a gentle hand upon his large head. "Hey, hey, hey, it's alright. Shh, it's okay." Yugi said, trying to calm the big griffin down.

"It's my fault...kinda...not really...but still...my brother..." Harry sobbed. He nuzzled his head closer to the small boy.

Yugi was a little surprised by Harry's action. Slowly, he wrapped his arms around Harry as best he could. He rested his head against the giant griffin's and stroked him.

They stayed like that for sometime. Yugi doing his best to comfort the sobbing griffin and the great creature nuzzling against the boy like a giant winged kitten. Though they'd never admit it, both felt slightly contented at the others closeness. Soon Harry began to calm down.

"It's okay." Yugi stroked his head. "Shh! Hey, now don't cry. Every little thing's gonna be all right." he sang, trying to comfort the griffin.

Harry looked at Yugi hopefully, "You think?"

"Yeah, sure." Yugi paused. It was getting late and everyone was probably getting worried. Besides, if he was the griffinslayer he couldn't be seen out here trying to comfort a broken hearted griffin.

Yugi backed away from Harry as the giant creature stood up, "So, look, um...I'm gonna take off...and you should just go home, okay?"

Harry nodded, "Okay."

Yugi started walking away, "All right. Maybe I'll see you again sometime." With that, Yugi headed back to the city, passing the old bridge. _"Poor guy. I don't know what I would do if I lost Yami or Mai."_ he was thinking, when someone grabbed onto his waist.

"Hey!" Yugi twisted around to see Harry hanging on for dear life. "What's wrong?"

"There is no home for me anymore." Harry sobbed, tightening his grip without realising it. "Don't you understand that?"

Yugi tried to squirm out of Harry's grasp, "You're too big to be grabbing onto me like this."

"Sorry." Harry placed Yugi down. "Please take me home with you." He looked at the boy with pleading eyes.

"What?" Yugi stared at the griffin as if he was insane.

"You won't even notice I'm there." Harry covered his eyes with his paws, as if pretending that he wasn't really there. "I'm, like, the invisible griffin!" He uncovered his eyes to see a very unhappy Yugi.

Yugi frowned at Harry, there was no way he could hide a griffin in his apartment with his brother and sister around. Especially not now since he was now the rich and famous griffinslayer. "Are you CRAZY!" he cried.

Tears started to well up in Harry's eyes, "PLEASE! I'M BEGGING YOU! DON'T LEAVE ME ALONE!"

Yugi's eyes softened as he watched Harry. He felt a slight pain of guilt in his heart. Yugi just didn't have the nerve to leave Harry out here by himself. _"Am I really that soft hearted?" _he thought. What was he going to do with this crazy griffin?

He reached up and gently stroked Harry's head while wiping his tears away. "Hey, hey. Shhh!" he cooed softly. "It's alright. Shh!"

Harry stopped crying at feeling the gentle touch.

"Yo!" a voice said from under the bridge. "Put you're hands on the wall where I can see em'"

Yugi shoved Harry's back against the wall and jumped backwards against it himself. He peered around the corner. A few feet over, he spotted one of the little kids had his hands up against a wall while the other two were standing behind him, giggling.

Yugi smiled. It was only the Shorties. _"Probably doing something they shouldn't be."_ he thought, breathing a sigh of relief. He knew how to handle them. "Hey, Shorties!" he said, walking out to meet them.

"Yugi!" they said, giggling and pushing each other playfully.

"What are you all doing out here?" Yugi asked, drawing them further away from where Harry was hiding.

"Check it out!" one said, pointing at the wall.

Yugi glanced up. There was graffiti all over the walls. It was a picture of Yugi, dressed in golden armour and carrying a laser sword, riding on the back of a huge, ferocious griffin. The words _Griffinslayer rules!_ were everywhere. For a moment, Yugi felt proud. "Whoa – ho!" he said. "You kids have got some skills!" Then he stopped, "Hey, wait a minute! What did I tell you kids about this?"

"You kids shouldn't even be doin' this." he added as he began to shoo them away. "And besides, it's not safe to be out here at night."

"It is now, bro – bro!" said the littlest. "You're the great Griffinslayer now."

From the shadows, Harry gasped. These little kids thought that this puny teenager was the ferocious and deadly Griffinslayer. Harry said out loud, "The Griffinslayer!"

Unfortunately, the Shorties had heard him. "What was that?" one asked, looking in the direction of the sound.

Thinking quickly, Yugi coughed harshly, "Sometimes I'll be coughing for nothin'."

The Shorties seemed to believe him. "Look." Yugi said quickly. "I just, I need you off the streets, seriously. So get yourselves back home, because I know you're moms, and I just might tell them that you've been doin' bad stuff."

"Aww, Yugi!" they groaned.

The tallest out of the trio spoke up, "Hey, let's go make Mr Sykes puff up."

The other two smiled and agreed. They did as they were told, running off to cause some trouble for Sykes. "See ya, Yugi!" they waved as they ran off.

When they were gone, Yugi ran back to Harry. "Harry," he said. "Did you just see what happened?"

"Yeah, they think you're the Griffinslayer!" Harry snorted, trying to hold back his laughter. "As _if!_"

Yugi frowned. Never before had he ever felt so insulted! "I don't appreciate your funky tone, actually." He turned and began to walk away.

Harry raced after him. "No! Wait up! Hey!"

Yugi stopped and looked up at him.

From the look in the boy's amethyst eyes, Harry could tell that he had wounded the boy's pride. "I'm sorry, seriously. I don't want you mad at me...and I certainly don't want you to..." he snickered, "slay me."

Yugi glared at him as the griffin burst out laughing. "You're having a good time, huh? You're enjoying yourself?"

Harry tried to swallow his laughter while gasping for air. "No. It's just that...well, look at you."

"Hey!" If looks could kill then Harry's goose would be cooked as Yugi gave him a death glare. This was so insulting! True he wasn't much to look at, but that was besides the point! Yugi drew himself up to his full height. "It could happen!"

"No it couldn't." Harry said, looking cocky.

"For your information," Yugi said, "it already did. I _am_ the Griffinslayer. Yugi Motou the Griffinslayer! That's what people have been sayin'."

Harry stopped laughing and stared at Yugi as he realised that he was being serious. "Wait a minute. You mean that you..."

"Yeah." Yugi stood tall and proudly puffed out his chest.

"When the crane..." Harry's eyes widened. "OH! YOU'RE A LIAR!"

Yugi held up his hands defensively, "Hey, I didn't lie!"

From the look in Harry's eyes, Yugi could tell that he didn't believe him. "Okay, I lied." he admitted. "But it was a little lie! Come on! Who's it gonna hurt, anyway? Anyway, I'm not explaining myself to you. You know what? Your on your own, big guy!" He walked away.

Harry's eyes narrowed, but he followed Yugi. "No problem." he said slyly, walking around Yugi in circles. "And if someone...god forbid...someone should...oh, I don't know...find out the truth about the Griffinslayer on my way back..."

Yugi stared at Harry, "You wouldn't."

"I would." Harry said, smiling slyly.

The boy and griffin stared at each other for a moment. Slowly, a small smile crossed Yugi's lips. He chuckled and shook his head. He had to admit that Harry had his ways with people. Besides, he liked this griffin.

"Come here, you big goose!" Yugi grabbed Harry's large head and gave him a noogie. "Of course you can come and stay with me."

Harry could only laugh.

Yugi began to walk back towards the city with Harry following. "But, you know. I mean, you're a griffin...and I'm the Griffinslayer. So we can't be seen together. You got it, big guy?"

Harry wagged his tail happily, like a puppy. "Gotcha little pal!"

"And another thing." Yugi added. "Don't call me little." He looked up at the city. He didn't know how he was going to get home without someone seeing him with a griffin. "The only problem is, how are we gonna get through the city without someone seeing us?"

Harry smiled, "Not a problem." He gently picked Yugi up and placed him on his back.

Yugi was surprised. "Hey, what are you..."

But Yugi didn't have time to finish his sentence as, without warning, Harry reared back and his twelve – foot wings flapped open at either side of Yugi. He had just enough time to seize the griffin around his neck before he dashed forward.

Harry ran a few strides before he leaped up and was soaring into the air. He flew up and up until he was high above the clouds.

Yugi kept his eyes shut as he held on tightly to the griffin's neck. He felt Harry's wings beat on either side of him, catching him under his legs and making him feel like he was going to be thrown off. Harry's glossy feathers slipped under his fingers and the wind rippled through his tri – coloured hair.

Harry seemed to sense that Yugi was afraid and gently slowed his pace. "Don't be afraid, Yugi." he said gently. "I won't let you fall."

Slowly, Yugi opened his eyes. He looked down and gasped, not out of fear, but out of wonder. The vast landscape of the countryside looked so beautiful from up here. Looking up at the sky, he saw the moon and stars a lot more clearly than he ever could on the ground and they seemed so close that Yugi felt like he could just reach out and touch them.

Harry swooped in, out and around the clouds while spinning and twirling around. Yugi laughed happily, no longer afraid. He trusted Harry and he knew that the gentle griffin wouldn't let him fall.

The great griffin then did a loop – the – loop and Yugi fell freely from his back. But Yugi wasn't frightened. Harry caught the young teen with his front paws. Using one of his long claws, Harry gently tickled Yugi under his arm.

Yugi squirmed and laughed, "Hey, cut it out! Ha ha! Please, Harry knock it off! Ha ha!"

Harry did stop and flipped Yugi back up onto his back.

The two then flew over a lake. Harry flew just close enough so that one of his clawed toes on his front paws skimmed lightly across the surface. Yugi spread his arms wide, as though pretending they were wings of his own, and cried out joyfully.

Yugi grabbed onto Harry's neck quickly as the griffin flew back up into the sky. Soaring above the clouds, Yugi nuzzled his cheek against Harry's neck and stroked his head. Harry just let out a happy screech.

Riding upon Harry's back with the cool night wind whipping through his spiky hair, Yugi sighed happily. He didn't know what he had gotten himself into or how he was going to get out of it, but right now he didn't care. Because he knew only one thing.

Yugi had found a very unlikely friend in Harry.


	9. Trouble Ahead

Griffin Tale

Chapter 9

Trouble Ahead

Yugi took a deep breath and peeked his head out of an alleyway. Quickly, he looked left and then right. There was no one in sight. _"Thank god."_ he thought. The last thing that he needed right now was for someone to walk down and see him wandering through the streets with a griffin.

Harry had flown over the city, but being afraid that someone may spot them in the air, Yugi had suggested to land. They were now walking through the alleyway short cuts that Yugi knew.

Quietly, Yugi sneaked out. Then he turned and beckoned. "Psssst!" he hissed. "Come one, Harry."

Harry poked his head out of the alley. Looking around quickly, he began to walk through the cramped alleyway. But his large shoulders and wings couldn't fit through. He tried to shove his body through, but he was just too big. "Yugi?" he whispered. "I think I'm stuck."

"_Oh great!"_ Yugi thought. _"Just what I need."_ Yugi marched up to Harry and grabbed his large ears, pulling slightly.

Harry wriggled his shoulders and tried to spread his wings.

Yugi tugged again – harder this time. He pulled with all his might...and Harry popped out of the alley like a cork out of a bottle, slamming Yugi against a wall. Yugi shook his head. Then he grabbed Harry's paw and dragged the griffin around the corner just as a police car drove by on a routine patrol.

Across the street was the Draco Wash. Next to it was a warehouse where supplies were stored.

Yugi quickly darted across the street and opened the warehouse door. "C'mon!" he called.

Harry tried to follow. But it's always been known that griffins aren't very sure footed animals. The young griffin's paws weren't used to the smooth pebbled ground. He tripped and smashed into a nearby dumpster. Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow!" he groaned, rubbing his head.

"Just get you're tail in here!" Yugi hissed. He looked around, hoping nobody had heard the noise.

Harry quickly gathered himself up and dashed over to the warehouse. "You think anybody heard that?" he asked before smashing his head on the top of the door. "OW! OW! OW!"

Yugi groaned, "Clumsy animal."

Crazy Joe, who happened to be staying near the warehouse, peered out of his dumpster. "Who was that? Hey! Who's out there?"

Yugi whirled around just as Harry squeezed inside the warehouse. "Hey, Crazy Joe!"

"I thought I heard somethin'" Joe nodded. "Did you get that griffin?"

Yugi blinked, fearful that he had seen Harry. But being as dimwitted as he was, Yugi guessed that he meant Harry's brother. "Oh...you have no idea Joe."

"That's great! Well, gotta go. My shows on!" Crazy Joe popped back down into his dumpster. Lights were shining under the lid and out of tune music could be heard.

"_Guess he got that old tv set fixed."_ Yugi thought. He then followed Harry into the warehouse and closed the door. "We're safe." he said, turning to the griffin. "For now..."

Inside the warehouse, Harry looked around. Next to some brushes and some cans of wax, he spotted a few crates of dragon soap.

"Hey!" he cried. "A bed!" He plopped himself down on the row of crates, twisting and turning to get comfortable. He grabbed a roll of bubble warp and put it under his head like a pillow.

"Oh, yeah. That's good." he said, smiling blissfully. "Oh, that's heaven, yeah. Oh, snuggly buggly wuggly."

Yugi cocked an eyebrow at Harry. This was a so called cold blooded Headfeathered Griffin that would sooner kill a human than look at one? Harry acted more like a harmless kitten than a deadly griffin.

Suddenly, Harry lunged at Yugi and began to lick him. "I love you, man!" he said, lapping his tongue over Yugi's face.

Pinned to the ground with the large creature standing over him, Yugi could only laugh as the gentle giant's tongue tickled him slightly. "Hey, cut it out! Ha ha!" he chuckled. "That tickles! Ha ha!"

"You're my new best friend." Harry said happily, licking Yugi's face like a love - struckpuppy.

"Please, Harry knock it off! Ha ha!" Yugi yelped, pushing the giant griffin back.

Harry got off of the small teen to let him up. He walked back to the crates, circled on them a few times and then settled down.

"Okay," Yugi whipped the griffin's saliva off of his face. "You wanna be friends? Fine. But we gotta lay down some rules. Rule number one – no snuggly buggly, whatever that just was!"

"You got it!" Harry said seriously. "Anything else?"

"Yeah." Yugi nodded. "Rule number two, and this is the most important rule." The seriousness in Yugi's voice made Harry realise that this was truly important. "In the event, possibly, you know, you get hungry...you know, I've know some of the guys here for a long time, and my family works here too, and it would be a real mess if you -"

The golden griffin just rolled his eyes, "Don't worry. I'm not gonna eat anyone. In case you haven't noticed...I'm different from the other griffins." He sorted his make – shift pillow. "Let's put it at that. Leave it at that. Good night." He slumped down on the crates.

Yugi was confused. What did Harry mean by different? He didn't seem any different from the other griffins, apart from the fact that he was much nicer than them. "Define different." Yugi said.

Harry turned away from Yugi, "You'll laugh."

"I'm not gonna laugh." Yugi protested.

Harry didn't believe him. "Well, that's just what you say." Harry said. "And then what happens later is, you laugh."

"Harry." Yugi put a hand over his heart. "I give you my word."

Harry stared at Yugi for a moment. Seeing the honesty in the young boy's eyes, he knew Yugi was telling the truth. He sighed, "Okay. I'll tell you. I'm...I'm...I'm a vegetarian." Harry waited for laughter, but it never came.

Yugi just stared at Harry, puzzled. "So, that's it?" he asked.

Harry was shocked by this, "What do you mean, that's it? You're the first person I ever told!" As Harry spoke he became more and more agitated. "I'm so tired of keepin' it all a secret! And my dad will never accept me for who I am!" He once again slumped down on the crates, "What's wrong with me?"

Yugi saw the downcast look in the golden griffin's eyes. In those eyes, Yugi saw himself and his own life. Harry must have suffered similar problems to himself. Fitting in wasn't always easy when you were different. For Yugi being as short as he was for his age was a real downfall. "Nothin' is wrong with you, Harry." he said, stroking the griffin's head. "There's nothing wrong with being different. I think all griffins should be like you."

Harry smiled, "Gee, that's sweet of you to say."

Yugi shook his head, retuning the smile. "And stop blaming yourself for what happened. If you want to blame anybody, blame me. 'Cuz if I hadn't been out there in the first place none of this would have happened."

"Yeah, you're right. It was an accident. Nothing more." Harry nodded. His brow frowned. "Gee. If pop knew that, he'd ice you for sure."

"Ice?" Yugi said. Only a few creatures used that word and all of those creatures were from the Godfather's mob. Who was Harry's father any way? "What's he, like, the godfather or somethin'?"

"Yeah." Harry replied.

Yugi froze, "Whatcha mean, _yeah_?"

"Yeah." Harry said. "He is."

Yugi was paralyzed. The Godfather! Head of all the griffins! Harry's father was...Lino! Really? The griffin that was responsible for more human fatalities more than anyone else in the entire city!

"Hey, buddy." Harry walked over to Yugi, looking concerned. "Are you alright?"

"_No, I'm not alright!"_ Yugi thought. _"I'm the one responsible for killing Don Lino's son! I'm a dead manthat's what I am!"_


	10. Lino's Warning

Griffin Tale

Chapter 10

Lino's Warning

"No, no, no! You're gonna have to do better than that. I'm telling you. The kid's booked solid till spring." Sykes paced back and forth, talking on the phone in Yugi's pad as Bernie and Ernie played the brand new Griffinslayer video game on the wide-screen TV.

"Yeah, well I've got news for you! The Griffinslayer made me his manager, so I'm now what I like to call 'untouchable'!" Sykes boasted.

"Later, Sykes!" Yami and Mai walked past him to the elevator. Yami had planned on taking Mimi out on a date while Mai was going shopping with Kenai. But before they had a chance to push the button, the doors suddenly burst open and a frantic Yugi ran in.

"What's with him?" Yami asked.

Mai shrugged, "Probably hero business."

"SYKES!" Yugi dashed into the living room.

Ernie and Bernie gave him a friendly wave, "Hey, Yugi!"

Yugi looked at the video game they were playing as he passed. Bernie was playing as the griffin while Ernie played as Yugi. The virtual griffin suddenly lunged forward and chomped down on the virtual Yugi. Yugi cringed at the chomping sound, "Ow! Hey!"

"Hey, there he is. My brother, my player, the Griffinslayer." Sykes shook Yugi's hand absently. Then he went back to his conversation. "Oh, and another thing. From now on you're gonna have to start payin' me protection!"

"Sykes." Yugi gestured to Sykes to get off the phone. "Sykes, the deal's off. That griffin I killed was _Don Lino's_ son!"

"I know." Sykes told him. "Isn't it great?"

"Not if he finds out!" Yugi said.

"What'd ya mean, finds out?" Sykes asked. "I've got him on the phone right now."

Yugi's jaw dropped. Sykes was talking to Lino! That was just great. Now the godfather of the entire city knew who he was.

Sykes, oblivious to Yugi's reaction, continued his conversation. "That's right, Lino. I've got the griffinslayer in front of me right now."

Yugi slid his hand across his throat, gesturing to Sykes to hang up. Unfortunately, Sykes misunderstood.

"And he's gonna slay you and all you're griffins!"

Yugi panicked, "Sykes, shut up! SHUT UP!"

"Hey, hey!" Sykes said. "That's good. I like that. Shut up, Lino! Ha, shut up!"

Yugi slapped his forehead in dispear.

"What?" Sykes listened to Lino. Then he turned to Yugi, "Kid, he wants to talk to you."

Yugi's heart skipped a beat. Lino wanted to talk to him! This was deferentially not good. "No, no. I'm not here." he said, shaking his head.

But once again, Sykes didn't listen. "Yeah, he's right here." He handed Yugi the phone.

Taking the phone with a shaking hand, Yugi took a deep breath and spoke in a small voice, "Hello..."

On the other line, Lino's raging, growling voice could be heard, "Shut up? Shut up! You don't tell me to shut up! I tell you to shut up! I -"

Lino's threat was cut short as a ringing noise was heard on another line. Both Yugi and Lino listened as a voice spoke up, "Hey, hi, how ya doin'? Let me have a pie with everything on it. Anchovies, meatballs, sardines-"

"Luka?" Lino asked, recognizing the voice.

"Hey, hi boss!" Luka said. "What are you doin' workin' at the pizza joint?"

Lino roared, "GET OFF THE PHONE!!"

"But I'm hungry." Luka protested pathetically as he did as he was told.

Yugi could hear Lino's hard breathing on the other end. The old griffin was clearly not happy.

Lino growled, "My guys are comin' for you griffinslayer! They're gonna tear you limb from limb!" Then he slammed the phone down.

In his shock, Yugi dropped the phone and collapsed on the sofa. He felt as if his heart would jump into his throat. His blood ran cold. Now he was really in for it.

But Sykes was once again oblivious to the young teens reaction. "Come on, who's your puff daddy? Who takes care of you, huh?" Sykes did a little two step. Then he turned to Ernie and Bernie. "Come on, you two." he said. "We've got work to do." He turned off the tv.

"Mon, I was winning!" Bernie whined.

Regaining his composure, Yugi ran after Sykes as he headed for the elevator. "Sykes! Sykes! Hold...look...you got it all wrong!"

But Sykes didn't hear him. He was already in the elevator. "They're gonna write songs about you, kid." he said, pressing the button. "Oh, the griffin bites...with his teeth, dear..."

"Sing it, mon!" Ernie said.

"And then Yugi...kicked his butt..."

The elevator door closed.

"Sykes! Come on!" Yugi yelled, frantically pushing the button. But the elevator just kept on going down.

Yugi was frantic, litterly scared out of his wits. He began to kick and bang on the elevator door. He couldn't fight a whole pack of griffins! He didn't kill the other griffin! It was an accident! But, of course, only he and Harry knew that.

Defeated, Yugi slumped against the door. What could he do? He could tell the truth, but that would only make matters worse. He had gained so much. Money, fame and the pride of his family and friends. If he were to tell the truth then it would all be taken from him. Yugi sighed, everything just seemed so hopeless.

"What am I gonna do?" Yugi moaned.

"Maybe I can help." a voice behind him said.

Yugi spun around. There, sitting on the sofa was none other than Rebecca. "Whoa, hey, Rebecca!" He was surprised and shocked. "What are you doin' here?" Yugi asked lamely. "You just keep poppin' up sometimes..."

"You said to wait." Rebecca said, batting her long eyelashes. "So I've been waiting." She clapped her hands. The lights in the apartment dimmed, and some romantic music came from the stereo.

Yugi just stood there, dumbfounded. She was just so alluring. He quickly shook his head. He couldn't start thinking about this now, he had other things to worry about. "Look." he began. "I don't have a whole lotta time for the hand – clapping – making – the – lights – go – off – music – playing – in – the – dark kind of thing right now..."

"What are you afraid of?" Rebecca purred, walking up behind him. "I don't bite...much." She batted her eyelashes again and nuzzled her forehead against the back of his neck.

"Afraid?" Yugi bristled, blushing heavily. "You know that's funny. I'm not afraid of anything. It's just that..." He suddenly stopped short as he felt a wonderful feeling spread through his shoulders. Rebecca was gently rubbing his back.

"Ooh, baby." Rebecca crooned. "You're sooo tense!"

"Yeah." Yugi said, suddenly feeling sorry for himself. "I've been really stressed lately. You know, protecting the city...'cause I do that by myself, you know..."

"Oooh!" Rebecca said sympathetically.

"It's just, it's to crazy."

Rebecca nodded, "It's too much. It's piling up."

"Yeah, you know. It's just one thing on top of the other. It's all piling up. All the chips are against me." Yugi was beginning to enjoy complaining to Rebecca. She was such a good listener...

"Let Rebecca help." Rebecca murmured. "You know what I do when all the chips are stacked against me?" She backed Yugi up against the giant lava lamp.

"Quit?" Yugi asked hopefully. His face was now beat red as Rebecca gently pressed up against him while stroking his face and neck.

"No." Rebecca said, smiling. "I raise the stakes."

Yugi frowned, "Raise the stakes?"

"You just show 'em who's boss." Rebecca said seductively. "Then those griffins will leave you alone."

Yugi was thoughtful for a moment. Then he smiled, "Yeah, you're right!" And suddenly, he knew exactly what he was going to do.

"_Harry!" _


End file.
